Posted originally on Dec 18, 2024 by Martin Armstrong
A lot of people are fixed on what money is and presume somehow that a return to precious metals will solve the problem. Precious metals are for personal use. They have never prevented any society from systemic economic collapse. Do not confuse hoarding gold to preserve wealth with a gold standard. We had one with Bretton Woods. Governments printed and never adjusted the conversion ratio because they had to admit what they had done. The problem is not WHAT is money, the problem is regardless what money might be, politicians always spend more than what they have. The only practical solution is to eliminate the ability to borrow.
Debt has destroyed every empire, state, and city since the dawn of time. Hammurabi’s Legal Code created legal limits on interest, so borrowing was a problem from the dawn of civilization. The only solution to be realistic must address the outstanding debt while eliminating the capacity to borrow. Changing to a gold standard means the outstanding debt would be due then in gold. The bankers will love that. If we default, all pension funds will go to waste, and we will be looking at massive civil unrest.
We have to be practical. If we are going to follow dogma, you better dig a hole and don’t come out until the mushroom cloud subsides. This is real shit we are talking about! This is not an idealized theory. Every act will have an equal and opposite reaction.
I have stated many times that unemployment hit 25% during the Great Depression because of the Dust Bowl, and 40% of the civil workforce was employed in agriculture. We are at a similar risk today, but the 40% is in government, producing nothing toward national wealth, and are public servants because we pay them to produce nothing.
It is the implosion of state and local government, their inability to print into oblivion, that is the check against hyperinflation as they raise taxes and try desperately to hold on to their chiefdoms. Gold is for personal survival. Switching to gold does not address the debt, growing employment in government, the pensions, and our long-term survival.
So gold may help you survive personally as the economy switches to underground, but it will not address the decades of abuse suffered under Marxism. The government is incapable of ever managing the economy. That is why communism collapsed. It is now socialism’s turn (just being a little pregnant with Marxism).
Posted originally on Dec 17, 2024 by Martin Armstrong
Our models do not indicate that food inflation will ease in 2025. In fact, I have repeatedly warned that people may want to stockpile food for the next two years as there will be weather events and supply chain shortages. Our model warns that we may see another severe drought, probably between 2025 to 2027, in both the US and Canada. The drought conditions are already beginning, and this is in line with our model, which warns it will expand into the 2025-2027 period.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon announced last week that he expects persistent high prices at the grocery store. “I don’t know what the whole year is going to look like. I hope and I think it could be better as these commodities adjust — some of them,” he said per GroceryDrive. According to McMillon, he was “disappointed” at where food inflation was currently and cited that eggs and dairy were the main problems.
Food prices shot up during the pandemic and never fully recovered. Then the was in Ukraine hurt Europe’s food supply in a major way. In America, the Food Industry Association conducted a study that revealed food inflation in America rose 25% since the pandemic, and recently rose 1.1% on a monthly basis in November.
We then have those adhering to the climate change agenda reducing farmland and available cattle. They have repeatedly stated that humans simply consume too much meat, and our diets must change to reduce our carbon footprint.
Tariffs are inflationary and always hurt the consumer and have not helped in recent years. Additional tariffs will disrupt the supply chain and cause prices to rise. Obviously this is not limited to Walmart, the grocer who perhaps sells the cheapest goods in mass. Central banks are cheering that inflation has tamed but utterly ignore the persistently high cost of basic necessities like food.
Posted originally on Dec 16, 2024 by Martin Armstrong
The Global Market Watch (GMW) was created for one of the top 10 banks in the world. It allowed them to look at their entire portfolio without reading a thousand reports. This allowed them to hone in on what might need their attention. As they commented, this is like having 1,000 trading assistants. We really are too busy advertising or engaging in marketing campaigns. You can die from having too much business. As is the case with offices worldwide, someone is always awake. This was designed for large institutions to save time and provide an important tool for investing.
The comments are a work in progress since the model still identifies new patterns. Socrates is proving that all the theories from the nonsense of Random Walks, etc., are just excuses for people incapable of comprehending how the world functions. The GMW records a pattern REGARDLESS of the market and assigns a number you see under the comment. That same pattern shows up in every market because the instrument is irrelevant – it is how human nature interacts with that market.
We can create a GMW for your entire portfolio to give you a fast glance at your portfolio. We are currently working on providing the same tools that I have used so you can ask question and it will respond. We are considering creating a terminal so it will access our systems and provide you with an impressive assistant.
Posted originally on Dec 16, 2024 by Martin Armstrong
QUESTION #1: Mr. Armstrong, you used to provide your reports rebranded to an institution’s name in Tokyo. Would you consider that for other countries?
GL
ANSWER #1: Yes. We would articulate the turning points rather than include the arrays. That would make it too identifiable, tracing back to us. But certainly, we can do that and attack an institution’s name, such as a reputable bank or brokerage house. We can replace the majority of the cost of research. We have a database of virtually every stock in the world.
QUESTION #2: Can I request that a particular stock be added to Socrates?
I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America