American Wealth Declined in Q3


Posted originally on Dec 11, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

Debt Burden

According to a recent Federal Reserve report, US household wealth experienced a significant decline in the third quarter, largely attributed to deep stock losses. The central bank’s report revealed that household net worth fell by approximately $1.3 trillion, or 0.9%, from July to September, amounting to $151 trillion. The decline was primarily driven by a $1.7 trillion drop in the value of equity holdings.

This comes after a volatile year for the stock market, with all three major indexes experiencing a significant downturn in mid-2023. While the market has since recovered, the report also indicated a continued rise in household debt, which increased at a 2.5% annual rate in the third quarter. The decline in household wealth has raised concerns about its potential impact on consumer spending, borrowing, and investing, as well as its implications for the broader economy.

American Dream

Americans living off credit began pulling from their 401K accounts early during Q3. Hardship withdrawals rose 13% in the beginning of June after already being 27% higher than January. Hardship withdrawals allow employees to pull money out of their 401K for an “immediate and heavy financial need.” No one would recommend doing this unless the situation was dire as individuals must show evidence that the money will be used for a major hardship in order to avoid the 10% early withdrawal fee imposed for those under 59.5.

The year 2023 marked the first time personal credit debt surpassed $1 trillion. Credit card interest rates average 24.56%, according to LendingTree. Credit cards aside, American households are carrying $17.29 trillion in various forms of debt, with the average household hosting $103,358 in debt that continues to compound.

India Sets Export Restrictions on Popular Ingredient


Posted originally on Dec 11, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

India 12 2020 Protest Farmers

Onions are the latest food staple facing extensive export restrictions in an effort to control domestic prices ahead of India’s 2024 national election. The Indian government has banned the export of onions until March 31, following similar measures for wheat and rice. These actions aim to boost domestic food supply and shield consumers from rising costs.

The nation is also restricting the usage of sugar cane juice in biofuel production to grow its reserves.  The nation has also curbed wheat and rice exports in recent years and imposed significant duties. The restrictions have led to concerns about food inflation, prompting the government to take steps to stabilize the food supply.

The current food inflation rate in India is 6.61% as of October 2023, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. This marks a slight decrease from the previous month’s rate of 6.62%. The cost of food in India increased by 6.61% in October 2023 compared to the same month in the previous year. The inflation rate for food in India is expected to be 5.90% by the end of the current quarter, but the government is preparing for higher food prices GLOBALLY.

As for the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India’s decision to leave its key policy rate unchanged has raised worries about higher food prices. The average retail prices of onions, rice, sugar, and tomatoes in India have seen noteworthy increases compared to the previous year.

The Morning Soup Kitchen Line in Milan


Posted originally on Dec 10, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

The French Know How to Protest


Posted originally on Dec 9, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

Of course, if the American farmer did that in Washington, they would be called domestic terrorists or insurrectionists and either shot and killed on the spot or imprisoned for 10 years since taking a selfie in the capital building was a 5-year offense. The Constitution has been reinterpreted to the land of the free really means the government is FREE to do whatever it wants to us – the scum at the bottom of the pond – the Great Unwashed.

End Wars, End NATO, NO Corporate Climate Agenda and NO Vaccine Mandates…Surprising Convo W/ 2024 Candidate Jill Stein


Posted originally on Rumble By Kim Iversen on:Dec 8, 9:00 pm EST

The Ukraine/Zelensky Narrative Collapses. TikTok Permanently Bans our Show. INTERVIEW: Lee Fang Exposes Israeli Propaganda Op & Rapper “Lowkey” on Israel-Gaza | SYSTEM UPDATE #195


Posted originally on Rumble By Glen Greenwald on:Dec 8, 7:00 pm EST

Tucker Carlson Interviews Alex Jones


Posted originally on the CTH on December 8, 2023 | Sundance 

An amazing and long-awaited interview between Tucker Carlson and Alex Jones, the second most targeted and deplatformed American citizen; with the first being Donald J Trump.  {Direct Rumble Link} Well worth watching the full 90 minutes.

TIMESTAMPS: 2:46 Alex Jones predictions, 15:07 Deplatforming, 21:59 Dividing us on race, 25:37 The border, 28:09 Austin, 32:12 New World Order, 42:09 Brian Stelter demon video, 50:57 Depopulation, 1:07:51 Food, 1:13:51 Whiskey, 1:16:22 Presidential election.  WATCH:

Congestion Taxes Coming to NYC


Posted originally on Dec 8, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

NYC Myopic View

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) believes that taxation could decrease traffic congestion in New York. Vehicles will be charged an additional $15 daily to enter Manhattan from 60th Street or below, while trucks will face a fine between $24 and $36. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul strongly backs the measure as she believes it will help to clean up New York.

“Congestion pricing means cleaner air, better transit and less gridlock on New York City’s streets and today’s vote by the MTA Board is a critical step forward,” Hochul commented. As a reminder, New York City just voted to slash funding for sanitation. It is not an exaggeration to say that the city is overrun with rats. The police budget is declining by $5.6 billion as well at a time when crime is through the roof and the city’s infrastructure is crumbling as busloads of illegals arrive daily.

Do they want to utterly kill the leisure and hospitality industry? As a previous resident of New Jersey, I saw the tolls into New York rise over the years. It now costs a good $20 in tolls simply to cross into the state, and parking fees in the city are some of the highest in the nation. Now you have to factor in an added daily congestion fee and it will cost the average person a good amount simply to enter Manhattan.

Obviously they want people to rely on public transportation as the coming 15-minute cities will not require personal vehicles. Taxis will charge passengers an extra $1.25 to meet the toll while Uber and Lyft plan to implement a $2.50 fee. People earning under $50,000 annually can apply for a discounted rate only after their first 10 trips per month.

They’re banning coal and wood ovens so there will soon be no reason to stop in the city for a slice of pizza or world famous cuisine. Former grand hotels are now migrant camps and thousands of undocumented military aged men are scattering the streets. Crime is rising and Soros-backed DAs won’t allow criminals to be prosecuted. The people of New York will never see the money derived from this new tax. Yet another reason why I will never return to NYC.

WHO Proposes Global Tax Increase on Unhealthy Beverages


Posted originally on Dec 7, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

WHO World Health Organization Flag

Permitting health agencies to dictate what we can and cannot do is a slippery slope. These health agencies, such as the World Health Organization, work on behalf of their donors who support lobbying interests. For example, numerous health agencies began telling people to consume less meat after the plans for the Great Reset were formulated. Now, the WHO believes governments globally should place a higher tax on sugary and alcoholic beverages.

There is no denying that alcohol is dangerous. The WHO estimates that 2.6 million people worldwide die from ethanol each year. The pandemic that the WHO also supported increased alcohol usage and deaths involving alcohol spiked over 25% from 2019 to 2020. In fact, alcohol killed more young people than COVID itself. However, government agencies do not need to parent the taxpayers. Prohibition failed miserably, and prohibiting or increasing taxes on a product will not decrease demand. Additionally, the WHO wants to impose these tax rules worldwide. Wine is a staple in many European diets and a number of countries do not tax the beverage at all. The WHO wants that to change.

“Taxing unhealthy products creates healthier populations. It has a positive ripple effect across society, less disease and debilitation and revenue for governments to provide public services,” said Rüdiger Krech, the WHO’s health promotion director. “In the case of alcohol, taxes also help prevent violence and road traffic injuries.”

soda

Only 108 of the 194 member states have implemented a tax on sugary beverages. The WHO believes 8 million deaths per year could be saved if people ate healthier diets. SSB (sugar-sweetened beverage) taxes account for “just 6.6% the price of soda.” The WHO does not state how high the tax should be on these products but believes higher taxation should be universally adopted.

The agency admits that poor people will be unfairly targeted by these taxes as they typically choose the cheapest option available. The average tax on beer is 17.2% and 26.5% for spirits. “A pressing concern is that alcoholic beverages have, over time, consistently become more affordable,” WHO Assistant Director-General Ailan Li said. “But increasing affordability can be curbed using well-designed alcohol tax and pricing policies.” Why not look at past RECENT examples to see the consequences?

The money earned from the proposed tax increases would never see the hands of the people. Agencies like the WHO only exist to push an agenda on the masses and they do not care about public health. I do not want to know my recommended daily insect protein intake. I do not want to pay triple the cost for the foods deemed “unhealthy” by an agency that was never elected.

Because, of Course He Does – JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Wants Crypto Currency Banned in USA


Posted originally on the CTH on December 6, 2023 | Sundance 

Having spent time doing the legwork, I have a completely different perspective on the issues.

If you choose to live in the world of pretending, or if you trust the expressed justifications and motives of the USG as outlined by the DC proletariat, this is not going to be a read that retains your comfort.  However, if you want to boil it all down to the real reasoning, read on.

Top line – JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon wants cryptocurrencies banned in the USA.

(Newsmax) – JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday suggested bitcoin currency should be banned.

Dimon was speaking during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill.

“I’ve always been deeply opposed to crypto, bitcoin, etc.,” Dimon said in response to a question from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “The only true use case for it is criminals, drug traffickers … money laundering, tax avoidance because it is somewhat anonymous, not fully, and because you can move money instantaneously.  “If I was the government, I would close it down.” (read more)

Bottom line, the non-pretending reasoning.  The US Treasury has set the financial system on an almost unreversible path to a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency.  Crypto is a threat to the establishment of that objective.

The leftists and Marxists who now control the various institutions we associate with the United States Government, together with the DC UniParty apparatus that controls the Potemkin village we call congress, are in full alignment with the control objective.  What and who is their target for control? Us.

I’m going to be brutally honest and seemingly radical, but here is the Occam’s razor.

If you have ever wondered why Hillary Clinton could hold a reset button with a visit to Russia, expressing a direct interest in improved relations. Then, if you have ever wondered why Barack Obama would tell Russian President Medvedev he just needed to get through the 2012 election to have “more flexibility,” again expressing an interest in improved relations with Russia; then seemingly all of that is dispatched in 2016 to make Russia the #1 threat…. keep reading.

What happened?

How did the Obama administration go from all efforts to be on good relations with Russia 2009 through 2015, then suddenly pivot to the exact opposite with the Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy, the Russian election interference nonsense, the expulsion of Russian diplomats in Dec/Jan 2017 and suddenly Vladimir Putin as the archvillain for the world?   Apparently, few have ever really asked how that happened.

Here’s the big picture, as seen through the prism of the EU and the non-pretenders in Eastern Europe.

The Marxists in the Obama admin needed a boogeyman in order to pull off their domestic heist and secure the “fundamental change.”  The CIA and State Dept were deployed to utilize Ukraine in 2014 to create the boogeyman, Russia.  Ukraine would be the stick to poke Russia.  The USA needed a proxy; they created one and made the participants rich.

Provoked, Russia fell into the trap and took control of Crimea as they perceived the NATO expansion and likely control of the Black Sea as a threat.  The Crimea move gave the CIA and State Dept the exact response they intended.

The Russia boogeyman was created.

But why?  Why would the effort of the U.S. Government be to provoke and create this crisis?

In the biggest of big pictures, the domestic fundamental change needed it.  We needed a reason to put walls around the U.S – not to keep Russia out, but to keep Americans locked in.  Conflict with Russia became the Obama version of Bush’s conflict with Iraq.  Putin now cast to play the role of Bin Laden.

The Patriot Act was never intended to stop foreign terrorists from attacking the USA.  The Patriot Act was intended to create the DHS surveillance system for domestic control.  It succeeded.   The Russian sanctions were never intended to sanction Russia (and they don’t).  The Western sanctions against Russia were intended to build walls around the U.S. financial system.

Ostracizing the world’s global trade currency, the dollar, from the global trade system was/is a necessary step in controlling domestic currency.  If there is a threat, the government needs to respond. That’s how the crisis is created and not wasted.

Yes, what I am saying is there was a longer and deeper play afoot, a ‘trillions at stake’ game by those who control money and power, using foreign threat as the justification for something that just would not be possible without it.  That’s why Trump was never allowed to breathe for a moment, whenever Russia or Vladimir Putin was mentioned.  The control forces needed Trump to be adversarial to Russia, regardless of whether the threat was real.  After all, it was supposed to be a willfully blind Hillary Clinton in place during this phase.

Conflict with Russia created the opportunity for the USA to create a sanctions regime that doesn’t truly sanction Russia, instead it controls the world of USA finance.  At the end of that control mechanism is a digital dollar, a Central Bank Digital Currency…. and by extension full control over U.S. citizen activity.  The Marxist holy grail.

That moment is closer than most can fathom, and that is exactly why the counterforce of a cryptocurrency, a rebellious mechanism for free people to exchange payment for goods and services, must be stopped by the same USG that is triggering the CBDC.   Crypto is a threat.  Jamie Dimon, along with all the major banks and financial institutions, is one key beneficiary that CBDC (a transactional player for fees therein) so long as JPMorgan stays on task.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon opposes cryptocurrency.

Democrats, really Marxists, oppose cryptocurrency.

Republicans, really financial beneficiaries of the largesse, oppose crypto currency.

The narrative…. Only criminals, that means those who would be defined as domestic terrorists like pesky remnants of our nation who demand freedom and liberty, would support cryptocurrency.  Criminals, tax cheats, bad people support crypto.  Don’t be a bad person comrade citizen.  Insert vote, pull lever, get pellet, go back to sleep.  You will own nothing and be happy comrade.

Yes, that’s the bigger picture.

Can it be stopped?  I laugh, look in the mirror, think about the reality of how many people think this is an absurd conspiracy theory, and respond with…. How many people even know about the thing you are asking to oppose?

How many people would believe the Western sanctions against Russia were really the USG building a cage to keep us in.  How about we start there.  That’s my answer.

You can travel to Russia.  Wait, what?

Yes, you can travel to Russia without issue.  The Russians don’t care.  The process for getting an entry visa into Russia is the same now as it was five years ago.  Ask Russia for a VISA.  The paperwork has not changed.  Show your passport, give them pictures to create the visa (it’s a full page sticker added to your passport), show your hotel reservation printout, show your travel destination, drop off the paperwork, go back on your appointment date and get the visa.

It’s hard and takes longer from the USA, but it’s not impossible – it’s just easier from the EU.  It’s the booking of a flight into Russia (best done in the EU), the payment for a hotel given the sanctions, the stuff created by the USA that is the roadblock.  From the Russian side of the dynamic, nothing has changed – they don’t care.

How do I know?  The friendly people at the Russian consulate in Budapest walked me through the process.  So, find a way to pay for the hotel in Russia (there are many options), travel to the intermediary airport that has flights into Russia (like Istanbul, Barcelona, Budapest) go to the second smaller terminal in the major airport, hop in the flight and fly in.  Russians don’t care.  Go have a good time.  Leave the same way you came in.  [If by train or road, just have the VISA ready for review]

Scared about travel?   Why?

The same people who tell you where to be scared traveling as an American, are the same people who told you Trump was colluding with Russia.

Da comrade!

lolol

P