Living Your Greatness Podcast – Final Days of the Empire


Posted Jul 25, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

FinalDaysoftheEmpire.Podcast.LivingYourGreatness

June Home Sales Drop in Line with ECM


Posted Jul 25, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

RealEstate

I noted that real estate in the United States would turn into a buyer’s market in May 2024 going into August 2028 in a reversal from the buyer’s market we’ve experienced since 2020. The 2007 high on the Shiller Index was the precise day of the Economic Confidence Model. So far, all the indicators have confirmed that we should have a recessionary trend into 2028 with this turn in the model on this wave.

The National Association of Realtors finally agreed that we are now amid a buyer’s market after June posted the lowest number of sales for 2024 despite a notable rise in inventory. Home sales fell 5.4% in June from May, when the market flipped, to 3.89 million units. This figure is also 5.4% lower than home sales in June 2023.

Gone are the days where buyers would forego inspections and entering bidding wars where the listing price was by no means the final sale price. Inventory from June 2023 to June 2024 has risen 23.4% to 1.32 million available units. Inventory is still a challenge, as are housing prices. The median home cost $426,900 last month, marking a new record-high as well as a 4.1% annual increase.

US_Residential_Real_Estate_Index_Analysis 12 13 23

Homes on the lower end of the spectrum have been keeping averages down. Single-family units between $200K and $350K rose 50% in the past year, according to Realtor.com. There are more homes available now than there have been since May 2020, when sellers reigned supreme. Mortgage rates are far higher than during the 2020 era, and Americans are seeing their available funds dwindling. It is harder for potential buyers to enter the market.

Smart money views mortgages as an alternative to unsecured government debt. Cash remains king with 28% of buyers who have the means opting to forego mortgages entirely, and often can decline high insurance premiums as well. We are also witnessing a mass migration from blue states into red states and should expect prices to decline where there is a dampened demand. It is difficult to view real estate from a national perspective in the United States as demand is up in red states as people continue to leave increasingly oppressive policies regarding taxation, crime, education, and business. If you were thinking of buying a new house right now, lock in the interest rate, for with war on the horizon, long-term rates will rise.

Britain’s Perspective on World War III


Posted orginally on Jul 25, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

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Britain believes the next world war against an “axis of upheaval” will begin within three years. General Sir Roly Walker has issued a warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin will seek revenge against the Western powers who supported Ukraine. He believes China, North Korea, and Iran will form an alliance against the West by 2027 to 2028

The point here is when you think they [the Russians] are down, they will come roaring back to get their vengeance,” Walker said at a recent conference. “That is why you get to this point by… 2027-2028 this convergence may have reached some sort of mutual singularity and your ability to deal with them in isolation – a specific crisis that can be managed by the rules based system – I think is significantly diminished,” he said.

This is in line with our computer models that have long insisted we would see a rise in both international and domestic conflicts throughout most nations by 2027 going into 2028. Britain is already quietly at war with Russia. Our UK array on the 10-year shows higher volatility into 2025.

I explained at the London Seminar that the Brits are extremely effective secretaries and we have a massive amount of data that helps us to predict what is to come. Interest rates rallied up five years to the downtrend line, but during times of war, interest rates must go up. The pound could eventually fall to 80 cents – it’s a confidence factor. As long as people anticipate war, you’re looking at capital outflows.

Everything must be viewed from a global perspective. I also explained in London that Taiwan may cease to exist as a nation by 2028. “A problem in one area is likely to trigger a sympathetic detonation in another and therefore it is a global problem looked at from different perspectives around the world,” Sir Walker stated. The true problem is that the NATO Neocons cannot resist the desire to engage in warfare. They have already set up the stage to attack China over Taiwan. It is not a matter of China becoming sympathetic to Russia, but rather, China has long felt that the international community is interfering in their personal affairs.

The British army will be ready to fight and kill the new formation of axis powers by 2027. Sir Walker believes the British army is outdated in troops and strength and needs to rebuild. Every nation is increasing military spending. There is a cycle to war and sadly it will soon be time for the next conflict.

Hungary Being Pushed out of the EU?


Posted Jul 24, 2024 By Martin Armstrong

The European Union has revoked Hungary of its right to host the next summit. The EU supposedly has a rotating presidency of council to maintain the appearance that each state has an equal say in the direction of the bloc. The truth of the matter is that the unelected elite in Brussels control all of Europe and will silence dissenters, as Hungray’s Viktor Orban recently learned.

The next EU summit was to take place  August 28-29 was slated to be Hungary’s opportunity to share its ideas for matters like foreign policy with the rest of the bloc. EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell planned a “formal” council meeting on the exact dates of Hungary’s summit to undermine the country’s voice in the bloc. Now, Borrell is revoking Budapest’s ability to host the next meeting and moving it to Brussels.

“We have to send a signal, even if it is a symbolic signal, that being against the foreign policy of the European Union … has to have some consequences,” Borrell told reporters. His reasoning is that Brussels vehemently disapproved of Orban’s “peace mission” after he met with leaders in both Russia and China this July. Borrell believes “all member states — with one single exception — are very much critical about this behavior,” adding that he believed it was “appropriate to show this feeling and to call for the next foreign and defense council meetings in Brussels.”

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Simply put, Orban wants to end the war in Ukraine, which is completely against the narrative of those in Brussels who want to promote the idea of Russian aggression to promote an escalation in war“My job is to convince them to shift from the pro-war policy to a pro peace policy,” Orban said. “They believe that they can destroy the military [of the] Russians … but I don’t believe this at all, because I know the Russians, I know the Soviet Union, I know the Ukrainians. I’m belonging to a neighboring country. I know the whole context. It’s impossible to find a solution on the battlefield, we will lose every day thousands of innocent people,” Orban told CNBC, also adding that “human life is the most precious thing we can lose,” citing the thousands who have already died in this endless war.

Add to this the trade tensions between Ukraine and Hungary. Hungary and Slovakia are exempt from the EU ban on Russian crude oil. These landlocked neighbors are to receive oil through the Druzhba pipeline, but Ukraine has prevented these nations from receiving shipments. Lukoil may be the main supplier using this line, but Russneft, Tatneft, and Gazprom also utilize this line, leading Ukraine to intervene.

“The EU sanctions, which we have disputed on several occasions, and which in this case have again been shown to have a greater negative impact on Slovakia and the EU than on Russia itself, clearly state that Slovakia has an exemption for oil imports until the end of the year,” Slovak Juraj Blanár explained in a joint-statement he made to the European Commission with his Hungarian counterpart, Péter Szijjártó. “It is strange that a country aspiring to be integrated with the EU is seriously jeopardising the energy supplies of two member states,” Péter Szijjártó commented. Will the European Commission side with its members or Ukraine? What is the benefit of being in a “union” that does not support you in any form?

Szijjártó said that Ukraine should forget the blocked €6.5 billion in EU aid as they will not vote to help Ukraine as it threatens their energy supply. Hungary has been demonized by Brussels for blocking additional aid to Ukraine, with neocon Borrell still pushing to send Ukraine €1.4 billion by the beginning of August. There is no European Union. There is a European authority within the pretend union that controls all members.

Tax Code Change for Emergency Retirement Withdrawals


Posted Jul 22, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

401K

Low-income Americans are in such dire straits due to the elevated cost of living that lawmakers are making changes to the tax code. No, naturally, the politicians are not voting to decrease taxes for those who can barely get by. Instead, they’re permitting Americans to pull a mere $1,000 out of their retirement accounts without penalty.

Those withdrawing emergency funds from a 401K will need to explain their hardship to their employer, but employers do not need to approve the withdrawal. The government will tax the $1,000 if it is not paid back within three years and no additional emergency withdrawals may be taken out until the money is paid back in full.

The economy is shifting into a world of haves and have-nots as the middle class diminishes. A January 2024 survey found that 60% of Americans had less than $500 in liquidity, with only 12% possessing over 12%. The debt vortex is unforgiving and all too many Americans have become trapped in a cycle of perpetually servicing new debt, similar to our Federal Reserve.

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A Vanguard study found that 3.6% of the 5 million retirement accounts on record made an emergency withdrawal in 2023, moving upward from 2.8% the year prior. Bank of America and Fidelity reported similar findings last year on a quarterly basis. These people may be subjected to a 10% tax due to the early distribution because chances are they will be unlikely to pay back the funds. Credit card debt has reached a historic high in the US among every income level, so this last resort option has become unavoidable for many.

This program is an insult to the American people who contribute to our system with nothing in return. These same people who do not have a mere $1,000 for an emergency are paying into the giant Ponzi scheme that is Social Security with each paycheck. They must pay for Medicare and Medicare even if they will never use the services. They’re likely subject to an income tax depending on their state regardless of income level.  If accounting for a population of 335 million, the average American has paid about $522 in taxes toward Ukraine alone. The US is paying about $1,700 per month per illegal migrant welcomed in by the open border policy.

Then Uncle Sam comes around every April and gives the lowest paid Americans a tax refund check, failing to acknowledge that they preventing those Americans from earning interest on that money that they desperately needed. It is a grand lie that the socialist-leaning politicians care about the working man when their social programs and handouts guarantee tax increases on everyone. It is a shame that those attempting to do right by society and not leaning entirely on government assistance are punished by our tax code.

Germany Bans Conservative Voices


Posted originally on Jul 19, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Censorship

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced that the nation banned conservative Compact Magazine for allegedly inciting hatred. Authorities raided properties in Brandenburg, Hesse, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt to confiscate evidence and assets.

“This magazine incites hatred against Jews, against people with a history of migration and against our parliamentary democracy in an unspeakable manner,” the minister said, calling the publication “a mouthpiece of the far-right extremist scene.” Conservative politicians are calling the move “a serious blow to the freedom of the press.”

Now, why do we never hear the term “far-left extremist” mentioned in the news? Every conservative politician receives the “far-right extremist” label to invoke hatred and fear. Every news outlet across the globe is calling this ban a first step in outright banning “far-right extremist” views. Compact was associated with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the only German party against open borders, climate change, and ongoing funding of external wars.

Governments globally would like to stifle conservative voices. There is no place for dissent in this increasingly tyrannical world. Germany has sent 35,000 of its own troops to die in Ukraine for a war that does not involve the German people. They plan to open a headquarters of sorts to help direct the war in Ukraine from Germany. Women have been asked to conscribe to the war efforts. They have decimated the agricultural sector through their green agenda and want to de-platform the thousands of farmers who have attempted to protest throughout the year. Crime is at a 15-year high, and the population is rising to unsustainable levels. They demand that the media remain quiet on all of these issues.

Germany Scholz extremists farmers

Governments have become the judge and the juror. They are creating an underground culture of dissent and disorder among otherwise law-abiding citizens who simply wish to see their nation restored. Socrates sees Germany descending into a recession that will bottom in nominal terms in 2028 but will extend into 2030. They will increase their efforts to silence those who disagree with the direction of the nation as the economy turns down.

Russia Raises Taxes to Fund War


Posted originally on Jul 15, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Russia 5 Rubles

The people always lose in times of war. Vladimir Putin is looking to the Russian civilians to help fund the war that has lasted far longer than anticipated, thanks to Ukraine having backers with deep pockets. The flat tax rate of 13% that Putin implemented when he took over for Yeltsin in 2001 is being ratified for the first time I nearly 25 years.

Families earnings under 2.4 million roubles ($27,312.14 USD) will maintain the 13% rate. Those earning between 5 and 20 million roubles (>$227,592.80 USD) will face a flat tax rate of 18%, while those earning between 20 million to 50 million roubles (%$568,982.000 USD) will face a 20% tax. The highest earners bringing home over 50 million roubles annually will be taxes 22%.

Now, this is still a light rate of taxation compared to what we see elsewhere. Still, people and businesses alike are displeased. The corporate tax rate will rise by 5% from 20% to 25%. The government expects to generate an additional 2.6 trillion roubles in revenue once the tax is implemented next year.

Russia’s Finance Ministry believes that 2 million people, 3.2% of the working population, will see a rise in their taxes. Taxes on investments will not change. “The changes are aimed at building a fair and balanced tax system,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said, adding that the additional funds would bolster Russia’s “economic well-being.” He said the tax hikes will help fund social spending, including state child support and Russia’s pension fund.

It is almost unheard of for a nation to maintain the same rate of taxation for two decades. The flat rate was big selling point of Putin’s success and popularity among the Russian people. Yet, wages in Russia have also risen at the fastest pace in over five years, with a 7.3% uptick in 2023. Russia is expected to spend at least 40% of its budget on the war in Ukraine. Russia now must prepare for a prolonged war as NATO has become heavily invested and has backed the country into a tight corner.

Mike Benz Rings True – The Origin of the “Most Modern” Censorship Complex


Posted originally on the CTH on July 12, 2024 | Sundance

Ring of Truth (in part): At one time, merchants and other people using coins were very happy if a coin, when dropped on, say, a counter, had the proper metallic ring, of ringing sound, indicating that the metal was the right kind, not a base metal. If something has the ring of truth, then it sounds true. Not much of a guarantee, but there it is.

In this lengthy discussion (prompted to save time) there is a segment which holds good value.  Mike Benz is discussing Ukraine and whether or not the current USA position should be pro-Ukraine and anti-Russia.  Benz delivers a strong and compelling outline about how the modern censorship process was created from the 2014 Ukraine operation.

As we battle against the Great Reset with an even Greater Awakening, the value in knowing the details of our current state is large.  At the 01:14:43 point of the interview, Benz rings the truth bell hard for around 10 minutes.  Prompted, WATCH:

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Oh Noes, Elon Triggered The Speech Police


Posted originally on July 11, 2024 | Sundance

Within a minute of Elon Musk tweeting our content everyone was happy, except me.  You see, I know the game – and it ain’t what you think it is.

Elon is part of a targeting operation for DHS/Goog.  I know this because the engineers who are told to turn the fine-tuning knobs like us. Let’s just say, we talk.

DHS and Big Tech still control the entirety of the social media ecosphere; given the “trillions at stake” in manipulating public opinion, they kinda have to.  Rather than get angry about it, I just laugh and continue telling everyone what’s going on.

After deplatforming, we built this place to be antifragile. So, as you pull out your portable transponder units, ie cell phones to receive the latest intel, here’s some background on the Musk outcome:

Hello,

I’m writing from NewsGuard Technologies, Inc. You may recall that our company rates news and information websites for credibility and transparency, based on nine objective, nonpartisan criteria.

We are currently writing a Nutrition Label for TheConservativeTreehouse.com, and I have a few questions related to the site’s editorial practices. These largely relate to our list of criteria we use to evaluate websites, found here.

1- We found that the site continues to publish false or egregiously misleading content. For example, a January 2024 article titled “Tucker Carlson Asks if the COVID-19 Genetic Modification Vaccine Changes Your DNA” stated: “four years later questions are being raised about what that mRNA process might actually have done to the human genome.”

The article includes former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s interview with surgeon general of Florida Dr. Joseph Ladapo, in which Carlson asked, “Could foreign DNA enter your cells through the mRNA COVID vax and change your DNA — and humanity itself — forever?” To which Ladapo said, “Absolutely that could happen.”

COVID-19 mRNA vaccines don’t change human DNA. While mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines use a small part of an antigen’s genetic code to help a person develop antibodies, rather than small or inactivated doses of the antigen, they cannot change a person’s genetic makeup.

According to the website of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), mRNA COVID-19 vaccines work by injecting cells with synthetic mRNA (molecules that transport genetic material within a cell), which contain instructions for generating the COVID-19 spike protein. (The spike protein is found on the surface of the COVID-19 virus and facilitates entry of the virus into healthy cells.) Production of the protein prompts the body to mount an immune response against COVID-19 without having ever been exposed to the virus.

“There is no risk of an mRNA vaccine changing your DNA because mRNA does not have the ability to alter DNA,” the NHGRI says on its site. “Your cells constantly make their own mRNA. The synthetic mRNA in the vaccine acts like any other mRNA that your cells make.”

A May 2024 article titled “Some People Surprised – The FBI Was Prepared to Use Deadly Force Against Trump Security Detail During Mar-a-Lago Raid to Regain Deep State FBI/DOJ Secrets” stated: “Apparently the FBI was prepared to engage in a gun battle or kill people in Mar-a-Lago in order to retake the evidence against them. I know it sounds scary, but that’s the reality of our modern FBI.”

The article misleadingly states that the FBI was prepared to kill people during the August 2022 raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. This claim is based on misrepresentations of an FBI document, unsealed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in May 2024, that included standard language about the potential use of force during the execution of a search warrant.

The FBI document, known as an “operations order,” did include a clause stating that officers conducting the raid on Mar-a-Lago “may use deadly force only when necessary.” The order defined “necessary” as “when the officer has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or to another person.”

However, in a legal motion filed in a Florida district court in May 2024, Trump’s lawyers misquoted this language as giving FBI agents permission to “use deadly force when necessary” — omitting both the word “only,” as well as clarifying language stating that agents were permitted to use deadly force only when facing “imminent danger of death or serious physical injury.”

In fact, the language used in the operations order is standard for FBI search warrants and does not constitute an order from President Biden or the U.S. Department of Justice to kill former President Trump. In a statement to The Associated Press in May 2024, the FBI described the language used in its operations order as “standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force.”

“No one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter,” the FBI wrote in the statement.

Do you stand by these articles or would like to comment on them?

2- We have been unable to find any corrections made to content on the site. Do you have any examples of corrections made to recent original content you can share with me? If not, why aren’t there any corrections?

3- Why doesn’t the site disclose its ownership or provide any information about its editorial leadership?

4- Similarly, why doesn’t the site provide contact information or biographies for its authors?

So you’re aware, we regularly incorporate comments from publishers in our reviews, so this conversation should be considered on the record.

Thank you for your time in advance.

Best,
Nikita

Nikita Vashisth, Analyst
NewsGuard Technologies, Inc.
nikita.vashisth@newsguardtech.com

Seriously folks, this information monitoring is all just a little too funny.  The need for control is a reaction to fear.

…”There is no such thing as “disinformation” or “misinformation”.  There is only information you accept and information you do not accept.  You were not born with a requirement to believe everything you are told; rather, you were born with a brain that allows you to process the information you receive and make independent decisions.”… 

BOO!

1 – I stand by everything.  It’s all just information.

2 – I think I made a correction once. Use your spiders to find it. Good luck.

3 – We the People own The Conservative Treehouse. I’m just the steward.

4 – If we didn’t have contact information, how did you contact us?

Lastly, do I need a speech impediment to pronounce “Vashisth”? 

Warmest regards,

~ Sundance

Trudeau Considers Additional Housing Tax


Posted originally on Jul 11, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Inefficient politicians consistently cite additional taxation as the solution to their nation’s economic troubles. The housing crisis in Canada is has spread to every province. Instead of addressing availability, the disproportionate demand brought on by multiplying the nation with migrants, or any of the countless fiscal policies that have contributed to inflation, the Canadian government believes it is the duty of citizens to subsidize their wealth as a temporary solution.

The Trudeau Administration has been trying to paint the housing crisis as a conflict between the social-economic classes. All those greedy citizens who saved for homes are preventing new homeowners from entering the market. Trudeau basically said this when appearing on the podcast Generation Squeeze, an organization that is pushing to add an annual surtax on homes over C$1 million. They believe houses between C$1 million to C$1.5 million, even if a primary residence, should face a 0.2% surtax that would eventually rise to 0.5%. Homes over C$2 million would face a 1% surtax.

What about older Canadians who have been residing in their family homes for decades? They may not necessarily be rich but they purchased when the landscape was different. Trudeau said those who “scrimped and saved” simply fail to understand that the younger generation can no longer do the same due to the economic environment he helped to create.

“GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRATS DON’T BUILD HOMES!” – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre

I mentioned in a separate post that 13.5% of young Canadians under 24 cannot find entry-level work. Unemployment is on the rise and young people cannot afford to save what little they have. All Canadians are feeling the constraints of inflation, with household debt rising to over 100% of GDP and the debt service ratio surpassing 15.22%. People are paying for the luxury of even having debt.

This thoughtless plan does not count for the fact that home prices are continuing to rise. C$1 million may sound high, but the average home in British Columbia is around C$965,447, with those in Ontario facing an average price of C$853,915. The average home cost around C$657,145 across all provinces in 2023, but that average was only C$391,820 just 10 years ago. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) believes the average home will reach C$$746,410 by next year.

This is not a tax on the wealthy, though that would not be a solution, rather, this is a tax on hardworking Canadians who are struggling to maintain what they have left. This tax is in addition to the countless other grabs that the government is expecting from homeowners. There are federal initiatives that currently spend billions on new construction, such as the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund, which spent C$6 billion toward new construction. What’s the point of increasing the supply when you’re increasing the overall population more rapidly? Trudeau did not offer ANY other solution during his interview because he had none to offer.