Tag Archives: eliminate cash

May 16 2024

American Households Hold Record Debt Q1 2024


Posted Originally on May 16, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Debt Burden

The New York Federal Reserve reported that American households set a new record after plummeting into $17.69 trillion of debt, a 1.1% ($184 billion) increase from Q4 2023. Worse, the number of delinquencies is rising as households struggle to make ends meet amid the cost of living crisis. Inflation is not waning, taxes are rising, and America’s debt burden has become utterly unmanageable.

Mortgage balances rose by $190 billion and reached $12.44 trillion by March. People are paying far more in interest alone than they have in recent years. Those who bought in the hopes of refinancing are not in a good position. Auto loan debt rose by $9 billion, reaching $1.62 trillion.

Americans have been attempting to pay off their credit card balances, with overall credit card debt declining by $14 billion to $1.12 trillion. Yet, that was close to a record-high for credit card debt and we tend to see balances lowered after the holiday retail spending spree ends. Consumers do not want to pay those 20%+ interest rates on cards but many are forced to do so simply to put food on the table.

InflationWarAidMeme

Delinquencies are rising – this is a major issue. It is difficult to crawl out of debt once someone is deep within the cycle. “In the first quarter of 2024, credit card and auto loan transition rates into serious delinquency continued to rise across all age groups,” said Joelle Scally, regional economic principal within the Household and Public Policy Research Division at the New York Fed. “An increasing number of borrowers missed credit card payments, revealing worsening financial distress among some households.”

Credit card delinquencies have reached their highest levels since 2012 when America was recovering from the Great Recession. In fact, by the end of Q1 2024, around 3.2% of all outstanding debt was in delinquency. The New York Fed reported a rise in missed payments across all debts, including those 90 days past due.

No foreign nation is coming to offer America a bailout check. The Biden Administration has made it clear that American households are NOT Washington’s priority. We are to continue working and paying taxes in order to fund foreign wars and climate change packages. How else will we house those 7+ million illegal migrants and offer them free healthcare and shelter? How else will we pay off the student loans for millions? How else will we continue to grow the public sector and pay for countless new social programs? Americans are in serious debt, and Washington is all but ensuring this trend continues.

May 16 2024

The Migration Crisis in Ireland


Posted originally on May 16, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

May 15 2024

Andrew Arthur Discusses America’s Great Replacement Crisis


Posted originally on Rumble By Charlie Kirk show on: May 14, 2024 at 5:30 pm EST

May 14 2024

Dr. Carol Swain Discusses The Chaos With Marxists And Sharia Supremacists On College Campuses


Posted originally on Rumble By Bannons War Room on: May 13, 2024 at 06:00 pm EST

May 14 2024

Germany Considers Conscription for Men and Women Over 18


Posted originally on May 14, 2024 By Martin Armstrong

Germany is considering forcing the youngest adults in their population to die in the name of a proxy war that in no way affected Germany, the German people or their way of life. Former President Donald Trump warned Germany that it had become too reliant on Russian energy and they mocked him. Sadly, German leadership had known all along that the ultimate goal was to use Ukraine as their gateway to attack Russia. As I’ve stated countless times, Merkel openly admitted that the Minsk Agreement was merely a ploy to weaken Russia’s defenses and buy time for Ukraine to build its military. Russia has not backed down and now the proxy war is becoming a global conflict.

Everyone criticized Trump for condemning his NATO allies in 2018. At the time, only five nations were meeting their 2% GDP spending requirement on NATO defense, with the US paying around 5%. Trump suggested that everyone contribute 4% to build a stronger alliance. He never wanted to back away from NATO to support Putin; rather, he wanted to back away from NATO because he felt the US had been taken advantage of by its European allies. Trump even threatened to remove the US from the NATO alliance because he simply did not see the benefits to domestic interests.

Trump called Ukraine the wall between Russia and Europe and stated that America had become the “sucker country” by shelling out millions to Ukraine when they received far less in return. He warned Europe that their reliance on Russian imported energy would spell disaster and went as far as declaring that Germany was “totally controlled by Russia.” Instead of looking for energy alternatives, Germany went through with the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline and wasted billions as sanctions were implemented before the pipeline was fully functional.

This is yet another reason why they are fearful of a Trump re-election, for he has vowed to remove America from these senseless wars as part of his first plan of action. The globalists and neocons simply cannot allow that to happen.

Minsk Agreement Head of State

Perhaps Germany believed they could rely on an alternative supplier for energy. Perhaps they believed Ukraine would have made at least a dent in Russia’s military power. Instead, they are prepared to send their own kids to die for this senseless war. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he is “convinced” that Germany “needs a form of military conscription.”

Since the West has effectively eliminated genders or the need for a family structure, they plan to draft both men and women. Anyone fit to fight will be sent off to die. Pistorius believes Germany needs 200,000 troops to begin training immediately.

Merkel_Minsk_Buy_Time_to Prepare for wart

The centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) are no longer opposing conscription and now support the “reintroduction of conscription in a step-by-step process,” much to the support of Pistorius. All those virtue signaling with Ukraine flags and cheering each aid package must now acknowledge that their own youth will be sent off to war, and many will never return home. They cheer the “good” guys winning these battles abroad in Taiwan, Ukraine, and Israel, but fail to understand that there is no “good” guy in the game of war. The people are merely chess pieces to be used as pawns by their governments.

The worst part about all of this is that Germany KNEW they were going to fight Russia. Ten years ago, Germany knew they were going to fight Russia. I discuss this in detail in my book, “The Plot to Seize Russia.” The fact of the matter is that the West could not simply enter Russia without giving the public a reason for warfare and creating countless fake flags, demonizing its opponent through propaganda, and attempting to weaken its military through a proxy war. We are now embarking on the beginning of the third world war thanks to the manipulation of the elites in power who have absolutely no regard for human life.

May 13 2024

Ep 3350a – Trump Embraces The Crypto/Blockchain In The US, So It Begins


Posted originally on Rumble By X 22 Report on: May 9, 2024 at 5:03 pm EST

May 13 2024

Over Half of New IRS Audits Targeted the Middle Class


Posted May 13, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Washington’s reckless spending comes with a cost to US taxpayers. While the fed may simply roll over their debt and issue new debt to pay off the old, the American public is on the hook for immediate liquidity every single year via taxation. The misconception that Biden would only target the wealthy needs to be dispelled as a recent study reveals that 63% of new audits targeted Americans earning under $200,000.

Now, Biden initially claimed he would send his troop of IRS agents to target Americans earning double that amount. The billionaire class was not targeted, as 80% of all audits were on filers earning under $1 million. Yes, there are far more taxpayers in the middle and lower brackets. However, the IRS merely claimed they would prioritize hunting higher earners; they never explicitly said they wouldn’t come after ALL Americans.

The entire hunt for taxation has been a war on the middle class, who is unable to file massive write-offs and cannot afford to continue paying Uncle Sam on every incoming and outgoing transaction, plus savings, income, and everything else from birth to death. Washington effectively lowered our purchasing power by fueling inflation through absurd fiscal and social policies, and now they are asking people to give them even more of whatever money that remains. Washington continues to spend taxpayer funds on initiatives that the people have never once voted on, and ahead of election season, Biden is going on yet another spending spree with your money to buy off voters.

InflationReductionAct.meme_

The highest earners know how to avoid taxes. Trump famously told Hillary during a debate prior to the 2016 US Presidential Election that he obviously used the loopholes in the tax system, as do all financially savvy businessmen. “Her donors took massive tax write offs… and other things that Hillary as a Senator allowed,” Trump stated during the debate. “So do Warren Buffett, so does George Soros, and so do other people Hillary is supported by,” he added. Note that the Democrats in control have never repealed restrictions on these tax loopholes that only help their wealthy donors.

Every new war, aid package, climate change package, social program, and migrant who crosses the border is now the responsibility of the US taxpayer. They wrongly believe that our money belongs to the federal government, with the state also taking out their share. Then, they create new taxes, such as targeting capital gains, to ensure that every American is stretched thin. Did anyone vote for this nonsense? We do not live in a Democracy and anyone who says otherwise is either misinformed or lying.

It will become far easier for governments to extort the people when they introduce CBDC in January 2025. Uncle Sam will think you have hidden any cash on hand from him, cash that belongs to him, once they force us to digitize our dollars. Inflation will continue to rise above GDP and we will enter a period of stagflation. This is why I have warned countless times that private and tangible assets are a safer bet compared to cash as we move into 2028.

May 6 2024

Capital Gains Taxes Loom Over Blue States – Welcome to the Great Reset


Posted originally on May 6, 2024 By Martin Armstrong

capitalgains

Eleven states may face capital gain taxes to comply with the Biden Administration’s 2025 budget, in which the government must hunt the people for taxes to pay for a fraction of their spending. The concept of capital gains was not within the original Constitution.  The Founding Fathers established a completely new nation in an attempt to flee government tyranny, but yet again, Democracy has fallen into a Republic where the people have no say.

Capital gains were introduced in 1913, The 16th Amendment granted US Congress the power to levy income via taxation, which remained at around 7% until 1921. Congress quickly determined that they needed to extort citizens for more money and created two brackets. The 7% tax became a standard for income tax, but investors who held for over two years, an insignificant amount of time, were punished for saving and forced to pay 12.5% to Washington. Fast forward to 2025, and we are looking at the top marginal rate rising to up to 57.9%! The current capital extortion rate is around a quarter of one’s capital.

capitalgaintax

This idea of hunting down the rich is utter nonsense as it becomes an excuse to eliminate the middle class. The big money can take the risk, but the average investor cannot. This will deter small business investment and entrepreneurs who greatly contribute to innovation as they bring creativity and imagination to business.

Naturally, the 11 states are primarily blue. Californians really destroyed their state by voting for Gavin Newsom, and now they may face a top tax of 57.9% to cover the state’s excessive spending and growing deficit. New York and New Jersey, two states that should have stayed red, will face the second-highest capital gain taxation at a rate of 55.5%. These states already pay astronomical taxes on things such as property. Minnesota is looking at a tax of 55.45%, Oregon 54.5%, and Maine 51.75%, with the remaining states (Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Georgia, and Idaho) all facing capital gain extortion rates above 50%.

2032.95 World Ends Here scaled

Why on Earth would anyone want to conduct business in these states? If Biden remains in power, it will be a wonder if major corporations continue to choose to do business in the United States at all. Businesses could go literally almost anywhere else and face lower rates of taxation. Additionally, the American consumer has been stretched so thin through dollar devaluation, inflation, and taxation that they are not spending the way they once did. Capitalism is under attack; success is a punishable offense.

Schwab 2030 Overthrow USA 1

America’s consumer economy will continue to decline while places like China see their middle class grow and the consumer economy rise. China is not creating worthless spending packages on climate change. Remember, they told us clear as day that the goal is to destroy America’s standing as the world’s leading superpower. Klaus Schwab has been aiming for 2030, but the computer has been honing in on 2032 before Schwab released plans for Agenda 2030. Unfortunately, this is all precisely on schedule as America enjoys its final time in the spotlight as the world’s financial capital.

May 5 2024

Interview Martin Armstrong on GoldSeek


Posted 0riginally on May 5, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

May 3 2024

US Home Prices Nearing All-Time Highs


Posted originally on May 3, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

House US Real Estate

Home prices in the US are near all-time highs. As I repeatedly stated, we can no longer look at real estate on the national level. Demand and value are contained to certain states and areas of certain states that the public has deemed most desirable, largely due to political factors such as taxes. Yet, at the moment, buyers are swiping up real estate where available. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller posted a 6.4% gain in February after January’s 6% spike, marking the fastest uptick in home prices since November 2022.

The 20-city composite jumped 7.3% on an annual basis, rising from January’s posting of 6.6%. The 10-city composite saw an 8% annual rise, up from 7.4% in January. February was the third consecutive month of rising home prices in all cities, with Washington D.C., New York, San Diego, and Los Angeles experiencing all-time highs in price.

San Diego saw an 11.4% annual rise in home prices, the largest jump in the 20-city composite. Detroit and Chicago posted 8.9% annual gains. Yes, we will eventually see the red states surpass the blue. Smart money is moving into assets like real estate. The downside of real estate is that they impose a property tax on it annually, but investors enjoy that passive income.

There is a notion of “now or never” among first-time buyers as it simply no longer makes sense financially to rent. A person’s ability to qualify for that first downpayment has diminished with rising rental costs. Rental costs increased 3.15% from February 2023 to February 2024, further rising to 3.6% annually in March of this year. This is close to the pre-pandemic growth rate of around 4.1%, but rental pricing is up 36.6% from the pre-pandemic era. While difficult to judge on a national basis, the average rental now costs $1,983 per month, but it is much higher in places like New York City ($3,206 average) or San Francisco ($3,024) hence why we are seeing people sweeping up real estate there.

Shelter is 34% of CPI. The April 10 release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that shelter costs have risen for the past 40 months. In March, shelter costs were the largest contributing factor for core inflation. Rising home prices will not benefit the economy or lead to any positive indicators that inflation is waning.