Tag Archives: Economic Collapse

Dec 22 2023

A Political Disaster – 2024 will be Worse


Posted originally on Dec 21, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

Sieg Heil

COMMENT #1: This is in regards to your blog labeled “Homelessness at All-Time High in World’s Wealthiest Nation.” My wife tried to get her Aunt, who has nothing but the clothes on her back, government assistant housing in South Carolina. They told us they haven’t been accepting applications for over a year. You can see for yourself on their SC assistance website.
So I’m not sure what HUD means when they praise the Biden/Harris administration….

Kevin

COMMENT #2: I never voted for Trump and thought he was arrogant. But after watching how hard these people are trying to stop him, it is obvious that they are scared to death of what happens if he wins. I have two sons, 18 and 20. I do not want to see them drafted to help Ukraine. This time, I am voting for Trump to save my children.

NS

REPLY: The mainstream press has abandoned the people. All we get is nonsense and propaganda that comes from Washington; they click their heels and say Sieg Heil! So many emails are coming in that say they never voted for or liked Trump, but now they will vote for him to shake up Washington. These people in DC have to stop destroying this country. Trump is rising in the polls, NOT because he is some saint. It is all becoming so obvious that it is a vote against Washington.

It seems like a lot of people are coming to the conclusion that a vote for Trump is a vote against Washington and, certainly, the Neocons. A Trump victory would transform Washington into a sitcom.

Deep State

Nevertheless, I think they would assassinate Trump before his hand hits the book. They cannot allow him to take office because they won’t get World War III. My concern is they intend to start war ASAP to box in Trump where he cannot exit a war they have already begun. Pay attention. NATO will be deploying more Troops on the border of Russia in Estonia and Lithuania, where they can launch an attack against Russia, whereas Ukraine is not a member of NATO.

The crisis would be the exposure of the FBI, NSA, and CIA and whether they would follow Trump’s orders. I seriously doubt that would happen. This is the Deep State fighting for its life. Maybe this is the time. We will have to see. The USA will not stand anyhow, and we are looking at the collapse of the country we grew up in because of the deep-seated corruption at every level. What the Biden Administration has pulled off in Colorado is just shocking – an absolute direct attack on the foundation of Democracy. Bideneconomics has been a disaster, and it will get a lot worse in 2024.

Dec 22 2023

Half of All U.S. Buick Dealerships Take GM Buyout Instead of Spending Millions Retooling to Meet EV Needs


Posted originally on the CTH on December 21, 2023 | Sundance

Half of All U.S. Buick Dealerships Take GM Buyout Instead of Spending Millions Retooling to Meet EV Needs

December 21, 2023 | Sundance | 299 Comments

This is somewhat of a predictably tragic outcome all things considered. I remember a previous conversation on these pages when GM moved massive investment into China to build their mid-size SUV brand, Encore.

Continuing the U.S. decline of the brand, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that approximately half of all Buick dealership in the U.S. have opted to take a buyout from GM, as opposed to spending millions in retooling, restructuring and retraining their staff to accommodate the EV influx.

Most of the EV’s shoved onto the dealer lots sit idle without customers to purchase them.

Wall Street Journal – General Motors (GM) has bought out about half of its 2,000 Buick dealers nationwide, based on their decision to not sell electric vehicles, according to a company spokesman Wednesday.

Dealers who are taking the buyout would give up the Buick franchise and no longer sell the brand, he said. The dealer can continue to sell other GM models, such as Chevrolet or GMC, that often account for a higher percentage of sales.

The Wall Street Journal reported in late 2022 that the automaker planned to offer buyouts to its U.S. Buick dealer network. The move came after the Detroit automaker gave the dealers a choice: Invest at least $300,000 to sell and service electric vehicles, or exit the Buick franchise. The investments would cover EV chargers and worker training, among other initiatives. (read more)

The Joe Biden EPA mandates for Electric Vehicles are going to crush the U.S. auto industry and consumers.  On the upside, regular, well-maintained gasoline powered used vehicles will hold their value longer.  Overall new car prices are already ridiculous and the prices of the EV’s are substantially higher.

Along with higher entry prices, the insurance is higher, maintenance costs are higher and the replacement parts for EV’s are insanely high.  In some models the replacement batteries cost more than the vehicle is worth.  How the auto industry thinks these mandates are sustainable is beyond logic, then again maybe that’s the feature, not the flaw.

If the overall goal is to reduce the number of vehicles on the road and control the transportation choices of the American public, then the EV mandate policy is designed well.

It’s all madness, and only one commonsense businessman seems to understand the issue.

Dec 21 2023

Mike Davis On Why The Colorado Supreme Court Didn’t Follow Proper Procedure To Remove Trump


Posted originally on Rumble By Steve Bannon war Room on: December 20 08 PM EST

Dec 21 2023

Central Banks & Complexity


Posted originally on Dec 21, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

Federal Reserve Text

QUESTION: Why do you seem to be the only analyst who understands central banking? My son got an internship at one of the major banks in New York during the summer. I won’t say which bank, but he asked a senior-level guy there about you and the interest rates, explaining I had been following you for years. He said you were the only one with international experience and who has ever advised multiple central banks. Is that the answer?

PK

ANSWER: Perhaps in part. But there is a massive gap between the experience of those of us who have dealt at high levels internationally and domestic analysts who always seem wrong calling the shots based on the headlines they read.

Understanding Currency capital flows

The number one problem is this fiction that the dollar is a fiat currency when, in fact, currency from the beginning of time has ALWAYS been valued NOT by its pure metal content but by who issued it. There has historically always been a premium to the currency of the dominant economy.

Lydia Debasement
Tiberius Aureus Genuine India Imitation

When Cyrus the Great conquered Lydia, he continued to strike coins of their design because they were highly regarded in international trade. We see the same with Roman coinage imitated in India when they, too, could have issued their own designs, but the Roman coinage carried a premium.

Valens AR Siliqua Genuine Gothic Imitation

Even when the Barbarians were on the Northern frontier of Rome, they too took silver and struck imitations of Roman coins because they were worth more than the metal content. In 260AD, when emperor Valerian the Persians captured me,  there was a Financial Panic of 260AD where bankers suddenly did not know if Roman coins would still be worth anything when there was no emperor.

QE MMT
Rain Money QE

While everyone claimed hyperinflation would engulf the world because of Quantitative Easing (QE), I warned there would be no such inflation. Indeed, with QE, there was no inflation, and people then developed the Modern Monetary Theory, claiming that they could increase the money supply and it would not result in inflation.

The entire problem rests with the fact that these people not only did not understand the role of money but also failed to grasp international capital flows and how they play into the world economy. Because you can now buy US TBills and place them as collateral to trade with at a brokerage house, the debt is simply money that pays interest. BEFORE 1971, it was illegal to borrow against government bonds. For you see, if you could borrow against the bonds, that meant the bonds were part of the REAL money supply.

Once debt became cash that paid interest, that changed economics forever. I have said over and over again the Fed is NOT the problem, and it can not stop inflation with interest rates. The REAL money supply if the national debt, so if the Fed buys-in 30-year bonds and creates cash to do so, it is NOT increasing the money supply; it is increasing the liquidity – that is all. Swapping cash for bonds does not change the balance sheet. If you buy a house for $100,000 and pay cash, then you have merely converted your cash into an asset.

Now, it all depends upon the buyer. If I have a building and sell it to a fellow American for $10 million, it does NOT alter the domestic money supply. However, if I sell it to Brit, he brings in cash to buy the property, and that DOES INCREASE the money supply BECAUSE he has imported $10 million that did not previously exist within the domestic system.

This is a very complex topic that only those of us in international finance ever encountered. I helped the Japanese reduce their trade surplus for political reasons. I had them buy gold in New York, export it to London, and sell it there. The trade statistics only count dollars in and dollars out – not the product. Buying gold and exporting it reduced the trade deficit, and nobody understood anything.

Dow Jones Earnings Book Value 1937 1982
Martin Armstrong Margaret Thatcher

I handled a lot of the takeover boys during the 1980s when they made the move about Wall Street. They never understood what I was doing. The stocker was way undervalued when you could buy a company, sell its assets, and double your money. I took it to another level. I ran the model on currencies, and we would then buy like all the Courage Pubs in England but borrow in Swiss in a currency that would decline against the asset. We were making 20% on the currency moves besides the asset values. I was restructuring companies selling assets in one currency to buy assets in another to create balance hedge portfolios. That’s how I became friends with Maggie Thatcher. She wanted to know who this guy was sending companies into Britain.

Maggie was one of the few world leaders who grasped what I was doing. She kept Britain out of the EU because she understood what and how I was restructuring multinational companies. They staged a coup against here to take the pound into the Euro, then Soros attacked the overvalued pound in the ERM, and John Major had to reverse the entire mess, making Soros very rich in the process.

I will get around to doing my memoirs. I understand what I was doing set the stage for the world economy post-1971 Bretton Woods. That’s why Milton Friedman bothered to listen to my lecture about currencies in Chicago.

Dec 21 2023

Another Epstein Distraction – The Truth Will NEVER Surface


Posted originally on Dec 21, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

Epstein Jeffrey

The turmoil of 2024 will be unprecedented. Scandals are certain to erupt after January 1 after a judge ruled to unseal court documents that will reveal 177 high-profile associates of Jeffrey Epstein. Judge Loretta Preska ordered the documents to be “unsealed in full” to reveal first and last names, along with previously unreleased documents regarding their association with Epstein.

Jeffrey Epstein has been dead since August 10, 2019, and the elites are still shielding his client list. Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence and no longer holds loyalty to Epstein. She recently claimed meeting Epstein was the “greatest mistake” of her life. However, she still insists that she is an innocent victim of “cancel culture.” “All this is a fictional version of me,” she said. “It has been created to fit the storyline. It has absolutely nothing to do with who I am… I find it curious that so many people choose to contribute to the fake, created version, sort of like a Disney character, the Wicked Witch, if you will. The real people who know me and still love me have never spoken.”

Maxwell Ghislaine

The FBI and CIA have been sitting on a mountain of evidence for four years. Not a single person, besides Maxwell, has been arrested or prosecuted. We know of numerous high-profile members of Epstein’s inner circle already but they have neither been canceled or investigated. The government is deliberately releasing information incrementally to distract the public from bigger issues. These news stories reach every outlet GLOBALLY, but nothing ever comes of it.

I believe Epstein was running one of the largest honey pot schemes in modern history. He likely offered two big services: one being the most detestable crime known to man and the other would be offering the service of blackmail. He used his money and connections to grow his successful operation and was protected by his powerful clients. The blackmail he compiled on countless elites is now in the hands of the US government.

CIA

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency William Burns met Epstein thrice in 2014. Burns even visited Epstein’s personal residence in NYC. That means the nation’s top intelligence agency was likely using Epstein’s services and protecting him from prosecution. Numerous people with ties to the Clinton, Obama, and Trump Administrations also solicited Epstein.

Kathryn Ruemmler, a White House counsel under President Barack Obama, later became the top lawyer at Goldman Sachs. She met him dozens of times, and he introduced her to his good friend Bill Gates. According to a Goldman Sachs spokesperson, Epstein even asked Ruemmler if she would be interested in representing the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He also helped her network with Ariane de Rothschild, now chief executive of the Swiss private bank Edmond de Rothschild Group. There are countless examples of people meeting with Epstein to propel their personal careers.

Epstein was registered as a sex offender in 2008 for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old. “Most of those people told the Journal they visited Epstein for reasons related to his wealth and connections. Several said they thought he had served his time and had rehabilitated himself,” the Wall Street Journal reported. Yet the elites continued to fly out to his island and use his vast network to their advantage.

He donated, or rather bribed and bought, countless organizations. Epstein provided millions to institutions like Harvard, MIT, and Bard College. “We looked him up, and he was a convicted felon for a sex crime,” the president of Bard College said in an interview. “We believe in rehabilitation.” This was the sentiment among those in his extended network until his story gained more traction. But these people were the low-level clients on Epstein’s list.

Maxwell Robert

Remember that Ghislaine Maxwell is the daughter of Robert Maxwell, who was a member of “The Club” before his untimely death. Epstein was a nobody until he met Ghislaine, who was born into wealth. Robert Maxwell was deeply involved with Salomon Brothers and also worked with Goldman Sachs. He found himself amid a scandal after stealing hundreds of millions of pounds from his own companies’ pension funds to prevent them from falling into bankruptcy. Britain’s Department of Trade and Industry said investment bank Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. had “substantial responsibility” for allowing Maxwell to manipulate the stock market prior to the collapse of his businesses; behind the scenes, there may have been trading losses with “The Club,” and again, if there had been a trial concerning the missing $700 million, then all other parties would have been exposed.

Robert’s protege is William Browder, who began Hermitage Capital Management with Edmond Safra in 1996 amid the privatization of Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. Browder has deemed himself Putin’s top enemy and yields massive power. When Russia attempted to investigate Browder in 2018, the US government stepped in to protect him. Browder is not even a US citizen.

Epstein’s web is extremely intricate. His black book was revealed years ago, as were his flight logs. The celebrities and low-level millionaires or even billionaires who make the front pages for visiting Epstein Island were merely pawns. Major banking institutions and governments are involved and potentially helped run the operation. This could not be the work of one man acting alone. Epstein was disposable to “The Club,” as was Ghislane. The truth will never be revealed.

Dec 21 2023

The GOP Backs Trump – Kennedy Warns of Civil War


Posted originally on Dec 21, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

2024 election

Finally, the Republicans have come together as a party to condemn the absolute tyranny of current administration. The leading GOP candidates have put their criticisms aside to express their absolute disgust at the Colorado’s Supreme Court’s ruling to remove Trump from the ballot.

Vivek Ramaswamy

No candidate was more outspoken in his disgust than Vivek Ramaswamy who has vowed to remove his own name from Colorado’s ballot if disqualified. “Today’s decision is the latest election interference tactic to silence political opponents and swing the election for whatever puppet the Democrats put up this time by depriving Americans of the right to vote for their candidate of choice,” said Ramaswamy. He accurately noted that the Democrats have tried EVERY trick in the book to block a Trump 2024 victory. Below is the letter he posted on X, explaining why weaponizing our elections denies EVERYONE the freedoms we were promised by the Founding Fathers of this very nation.

Establishment favorite Nikki Haley has even condemned the measure, albeit lightly. “We don’t need to have judges making these decisions, we need voters to make these decisions so I want to see this in the hands of the voters. We’re going to win this the right way, we’re going to do what we need to do,” she commented. Of course, she is obligated to say this as this obvious abuse of the justice system has enraged the public.

Ron DeSantis reposted a gif of bananas dancing as a nod to the lawless banana republic this nation has dissolved into. “The Left invokes “democracy” to justify its use of power, even if it means abusing judicial power to remove a candidate from the ballot based on spurious legal grounds. SCOTUS should reverse,” he posted on X.

At the time of this writing, Vivek is the only candidate bold enough to remove himself from Colorado’s ballot. He vehemently believes candidates are proving that this measure was effective if they fail to follow suit.

Trump Won NYC

Robert F. Kennedy, an Independent, warned the nation’s voters that they should be extremely concerned about the future of the US. “Every American should be troubled by the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove President Trump from the ballot. The court has deprived him of a consequential right without having been convicted of a crime. This was done without an evidentiary hearing in which he is given the basic right of confronting his accusers,” he posted to X. “If Trump is kept out of office through judicial fiat rather than being defeated in a fair election, his supporters will never accept the result,” he added. “This country will become ungovernable. It’s time to trust the voters. It is up to the people to decide who the best candidate is. Not the courts. The people. That’s Democracy 101.”

Trump Not My President

Listen to what Kennedy is explaining here. Trump is currently the most popular candidate by far. If he is denied the opportunity to run in an election, the people will NEVER ACCEPT THE RESULTS. They are setting the stage for a Civil War if they fail to allow Trump to run again. It does not matter who wins the next election, as neither side will accept defeat. Half of the nation will view this move as blatant election fraud and manipulation, and as Kennedy said, “This country will become ungovernable.”

Dec 21 2023

Homelessness at All-Time High in World’s Wealthiest Nation


Posted originally on Dec 21, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

Homeless

Homelessness has reached a new high in America, the wealthiest nation in the world. The 2023 Annual Homeless Assessment Report compiled by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) revealed that over 650,000 Americans have nowhere to call home. The number of homeless individuals spiked by 12% from 2022; worse, homelessness levels are now at 16% for families with children.

“HUD data indicates that the rise in overall homelessness is largely due to a sharp rise in the number of people who became homeless for the first time,” the report found. The number of people who became “newly homeless” rose 25% from 2021 to 2022. The number of people previously homeless declined by 8%.

Around 49% of the homeless population is within the state of California. New York saw the largest uptick in homelessness after rising an astounding 42% (25,185 human beings) from 2022 to 2023. Of the major US cities, New York City (88,025), Los Angeles (71,320), and Seattle (14,149) have the largest homeless populations.

HUD speaks extremely highly of the Biden-Harris Administration and its efforts to combat homelessness in the report. HUD primarily blames housing affordability for the crisis, stating that new construction on government-assisted living properties funded through the American Rescue Plan will help get people off the streets. What the report fails to mention is that you must have next to nothing to qualify for government assistance.

Numerous assisted living plans require an individual to earn less than 100% of the Federal Poverty Level. The federal poverty level (FPL) in the United States varies based on the number of individuals in a household and the state of residence. For instance, the 2023 FPL for a household of one is $14,580, and for a family of four, it is $30,000. If a minimum wage worker held a full-time job at $7.25 per hour and worked 40 hours per week, they would earn $15,080 and exceed the poverty level.

hoovervilles 1930s 23

People basically must completely exit the workforce and rely entirely upon the government to qualify. There are countless Americans sleeping in their cars or couch surfing who work respectable jobs and contribute to our society. People are moving in with their parents well into their adult years, and the Baby Boomer generation is nearing retirement and must rely on rapidly dwindling savings. People have begun calling tent cities “Bidenvilles” as a nod to the shantytown “Hoovervilles” during the Great Depression.

We are seeing society separated into the “haves” and “have nots.” The average American is either successful enough to live paycheck to paycheck and make ends meet or utterly dependent on government.

This is all by design. They cannot usher in 15-minute cities and Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) if everyone is thriving. Every time you hear of a new spending package for a foreign nation, remember that your neighbor, who has paid taxes all of his or her life, is likely a few missed paychecks away from homelessness.

Dec 20 2023

What Kind of American Are You?


Posted originally on Dec 19, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

COMMENT #1: Are we being forewarned?
This is a trailer of a new movie to be released April 26, 2024. Can you believe this? [some trailer]
Civil War | Official Trailer HD

GW

COMMENT #2: Marty, this movie was inspired by your work. Nobody else forecast a civil war back in 2020.

HU

REPLY: All I can say is I hope this puts the thought in people’s minds. When the guy says ya, but what kind of American? That said it all. The trailer looks very good.

Dec 20 2023

Over Half of Democrats Want a New POTUS


Posted originally on Dec 20, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

Democrats Stake in the Heart

The Democrats simply have no voice within their own party, and the Republicans are no better. Joe Biden admitted that he is only seeking a second term to prevent a Trump victory. Biden does not want to be in the Oval Office and has no passion for the job, but it is expected of him. The establishment has him completely under their thumb. Biden allegedly received more votes than any president in US history, but most of the people who voted for him did so because they also hated Trump. Now, over half of Democrats want him out of office.

A recent poll conducted by Fox News revealed that 54% of Democrat primary voters would prefer an alternative to President Joe Biden as the 2024 nominee, while only 43% want to keep Biden. The poll also showed a slight increase in negative sentiment against the president compared to previous months. The Democratic Party is reported to have no “plan B” if Biden does not run for reelection because the establishment does not plan on having a fair election.

BidenTrainwreckNYPost

What could Joe Biden possibly campaign on? I genuinely cannot name one accomplishment. His presidency has set historical records for border crossings, inflation, homelessness, crime, and government spending, to name a few items. The bribery attempts made during the last election will not work as Biden failed to make good on his promises. Then you have strong support for Palestine among liberals, especially the youth who predominately vote blue. Hence, Biden’s people indicted his main opponent and painted his supporters as domestic terrorists. They weaponized the FBI and CIA and manipulated the media with endless propaganda. The establishment now refuses to allow any Democrat to run against him. Do you still believe we live in a democracy?  

Dec 20 2023

Germany Deploys Troops to Lithuania


Posted originally on Dec 20, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

World War III Ahead

Germany is sending troops on a permanent deployment to a foreign nation for the first time since World War II. Germany had agreed to deploy troops to Lithuania back in June but did not set an official date for deployment at that time. Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas met with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Monday to discuss a multi-year “Roadmap Action Plan.”

“The eastern flank has now moved to the east, and it’s the duty of Germany to protect it,” Pistorius said Monday during a joint press conference. Around 4,800 troops will be permanently positioned in Lithuania, arriving in increments from 2024 until 2027. Pistorius called the move historic and likened it to the troops stationed in West Germany during the Cold War to protect the nation from Soviet aggression. Lithuania borders both Russia and Belarus. For years, Putin has said that Russia would not respond well if cornered by NATO. He attempted to broker numerous deals to prevent “NATO aggression” and avoid a large-scale conflict. But NATO is not an organization of peace.

“We will ensure reliable deterrence and we will be ready to [defend] NATO. We are sending a clear signal with this step to those who present a threat to peace and security in Europe,” Pistorius commented. He also noted that taxes must be raised to support this new NATO deterrent plan but did not elaborate on how they will extort their own citizens to pay for the war that they so desperately want.

Why would this deter Russia? They cannot simply retreat and go about business as usual. This move is merely a glimpse into the future. Additional NATO nations will also permanently deploy troops as the waves of the cycle of war continue to grow, building up to the next world war.