


Oh Canada, we stand on cars and freeze...



For those that would rather read:
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Gerald Celente
The man who predicted the 1987 stock market crash and the fall of the Soviet Union is now forecasting revolution in America, food riots and tax rebellions - all within four years, while cautioning that putting food on the table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas gifts by 2012.
Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, is renowned for his accuracy in predicting future world and economic events, which will send a chill down your spine considering what he told Fox News this week.
Celente says that by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts.
“We’re going to see the end of the retail Christmas….we’re going to see a fundamental shift take place….putting food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree,” said Celente, adding that the situation would be “worse than the great depression”.
“America’s going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for,” said Celente, noting that people’s refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis.
Celente says that by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts.
Celente, who successfully predicted the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, the subprime mortgage collapse and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar, told UPI in November last year that the following year would be known as “The Panic of 2008,” adding that “giants (would) tumble to their deaths,” which is exactly what we have witnessed with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others. He also said that the dollar would eventually be devalued by as much as 90 per cent.
The consequence of what we have seen unfold this year would lead to a lowering in living standards, Celente predicted a year ago, which is also being borne out by plummeting retail sales figures.
The prospect of revolution was a concept echoed by a British Ministry of Defence report last year, which predicted that within 30 years, the growing gap between the super rich and the middle class, along with an urban underclass threatening social order would mean, “The world’s middle classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transnational processes in their own class interest,” and that, “The middle classes could become a revolutionary class.”
In a separate recent interview, Celente went further on the subject of revolution in America.
“There will be a revolution in this country,” he said. “It’s not going to come yet, but it’s going to come down the line and we’re going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it: the takeover of Washington, D. C., in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen.”
“The first thing to do is organize with tax revolts. That’s going to be the big one because people can’t afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax. You’re going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop.”
“It’s going to be very bleak. Very sad. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before. Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we’re going to see many more.”
“We’re going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well. It’s going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to. It’s going to come as a shock and with it, there’s going to be a lot of crime. And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression, people’s minds weren’t wrecked on all these modern drugs – over-the-counter drugs, or crystal meth or whatever it might be. So, you have a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody’s comprehension.”
Oh Canada, we stand on cars and freeze...





Interesting food for thought. A bit over the top saying the US will become an "undeveloped" nation. There's no doubt that the situation is serious at the moment. The theme seems to be Excess to Austerity, which is a reasonable temporary reaction.
The reporter is at a bar. She is totally hot and would probably looks great in a bikini. All in all it was a very humorous video.
1. This is fox news and they like to report the sky is falling.
2. How is ending the commercialism of Christmas a bad thing, again?
3. Now they're saying a depression is coming? I was saying that 2 years ago, ferchristsake! It's like smoking cigarettes for 20 years and then acting surprised when you get lung cancer. These guys are idiots. Of course we have a depression coming, and it was brought on by bad fiscal policy by the republicans over the last 30 years.
4. Hello, Fox News! Where the hell have you been over the last 8 years anyway? Yes, people are losing their jobs and homes. This isn't happening only since 11/04/2008. OMG! These guys are sooooooooo dumb!
5. "People have been denying that we are in a recession until just a couple of months ago." Um...yeah, those people were on FOXNEWS Arrrrrrgggggghhhhh!
6. "The government is going to try to squeeze more money out of the average person. We're seeing every city, every state are raising taxes on the people." Excuse me Mr. Expert Person, but what does local taxes have to do with federal taxes? The local governments are raising taxes because there is no federal money left to fix roads, fund schools or police departments or fire departments. The Fed is not only broke, but in deep debt with a negative revenue. ie; they're spending more than their making. Someone is going to have to make sure that bridges don't collaspe, and if the Federal Highway funding is nonexistant, then it will fall to the states and local governments.
7. In conclusion, the big sacrifices that Americans are going to have to make? They are going to have to live within their means. Oh! The Humanity! This is horrible!
Gimme a break...![]()
Promote yourself and earn more money! This is a business that is owned by strippers for strippers. Let's make that money!
Promote yourself and earn more money! This is a business that is owned by strippers for strippers. Let's make that money!





(putting on mod hat) ... I moved this thread to the Member's Area because the subject matter has far less than the 50% minimum economic content requirement for Dollar Den. Nonetheless the content of this thread is extremely important
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This is true. However, the reality of Americans being forced to 'live within their means' continues to be glossed over and ignored in terms of it's actual meaning in a global economy. To wit ...In conclusion, the big sacrifices that Americans are going to have to make? They are going to have to live within their means. Oh! The Humanity! This is horrible
- the standard of living of some 40% of Americans is currently being subsidized to a huge degree versus the actual 'added value' that their unskilled labors are currently worth on a global basis. As state and local gov't budget deficits reach crisis levels, and as the credit rating of state and local gov'ts falls to the point where it becomes impractical for them to sell additional muni bonds to fund additional spending, spending levels on social welfare program and tax subsidies for those 40% of Americans will have no option but to face major cuts. When that happens, some portion of America's 'comfortable poor' (i.e. the author's 'urban underclass') will no longer be comfortable, and may indeed be the source of major social unrest ...
- ultimately, without ongoing 'transfer of wealth', the standard of living that is sustainable for poor / unskilled Americans is that which can be purchased with globally competitive $2 per hour wage rates. Thus the author's contention that America could very well come to resemble a 'third world country' in short order is more factual than one might imagine.
- after the gov't rediscovers that attempting to increase taxes on 'rich' Americans creates a DECLINE in gov't tax revenues, attempts will be made to increase taxes on the 'middle class' in an attempt to keep America's 'comfortable poor' from fomenting social unrest. Already hard-pressed, as the author points out it is a logical assumption that 'tax revolts' by the 'middle class' are likely to follow such attempts.
- from that point forward, it's possible that the situation then degenerates towards Mad Max, because the 'tax revolt' by middle class residents effectively leaves state and local governments in a position where they can no longer afford to provide adequate police protection to keep some portion of poor / unskilled Americans from attempting to 'take' from the middle class what they are no longer being 'given' by the gov't via wealth transfer. Unfortunately, some portion of the middle class will find themselves woefully unprepared for this development.
~
Last edited by Melonie; 11-15-2008 at 08:34 PM.




Shit, I hope not, though I've also been hearing elsewhere that a depression eclipsing the Great Depression is to be expected.





another analyst making similar points ...
(snip)"Four Words Obama Will Never Say
Michael Pento
Nov 14, 2008
Will the new Obama administration offer a solution to our country's short and long term fiscal imbalances? I'm willing to bet four words you will never hear him say during his tenure are "The budget is balanced!" First, take a look at a couple of estimates regarding how great our long term debt will accrue due to the demographic challenges we face. According to estimates from a 2007 study done by USA Today, the projected debt for our country could reach $59 trillion dollars because of the unfunded mandates from entitlement programs. And if you think that's scary, Richard Fisher, President and CEO of none other than the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, puts the figure in a speech given May 28th 2008 at $99.2 trillion! Medicare parts A & B account for 69% of the debt, Part D for prescription drugs (thanks George W. Bush) accounts for 17%, while Social Security accounts for just 14%. As foreboding as those estimates are for our future, it appears that recent events will preclude any substantive efforts at tackling this looming catastrophe.
The election of Barack Obama coupled with the current economic crisis virtually guarantees that our collision course with the entitlement iceberg will remain unaltered. After all, Democrats have historically railed against privatizing any aspect of our entitlement programs. Not that privatization would provide a panacea for all our long term fiscal imbalances, but clearly something must be done during his new administration. But lest you think Republicans have the high road, I hasten to add the Bush administration was nothing short of a fiscal disaster. Given the recent performance (or lack thereof) from stocks and real estate, it would seem highly unlikely that an Obama administration would propose investing funds into the market. What needs to be done is a massive reduction in entitlement benefits; a phased-in reduction of expenditures until outlays equal receipts is the only viable long term solution to the problem. The problem with such harsh medicine is that it would take trillions of dollars in promises to retirees out of the economy. That would inevitably bring about a severe recession, one that would dramatically lower the standard of living for all Americans and impact quality of life for millions of our elderly population.
The bottom line is that we've made promises to future generations that we can never keep unless we print the money toredeem our obligations. But that would only be accomplished by depreciating the currency until it has lost much of its purchasing power. It isn't any benefit for retirees to send them money that has lost most its value. That "solution" becomes even less viable when you take into account that entitlement benefits are pegged to inflation.
The problems associated with our long term imbalances have been exacerbated by the reduced wealth experienced as a result of the credit crisis. The S&P 500 has lost about 35% of its value in 2008 and home prices have dropped 16% year over year. Making matters worse is the fact that bank lending has fallen sharply, and home equity extractions have plummeted as American's percent of equity in the home as fallen to just 46%--the lowest level since the end of WW ll. That situation will force the consumer to rely on those entitlement programs as a means of survival more than ever before.
According to a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Social Security benefits account for 90% of income for 34% of our elderly, and for half of all retirees it accounts for 66% of their income. There can be no doubt how essential our nation's entitlement programs have become for the health of the country. Do you see the rub? We either have to print, tax or cut our way out of the problem but all those solutions carry an undeniable amount of dire consequences to our economy and standard of living. However, some combination of all three will most likely occur and the longer we wait, the worse the situation grows. Quoting from Mr. Fisher, "No combination of tax hikes and spending cuts, though, will change the total burden borne by current and future generations. For the existing unfunded liabilities to be covered in the end, someone must pay $99.2 trillion or receive $99.2 trillion less than they have been promised... the decision we must make is whether to shoulder a substantial portion of that burden today or compel future generations to bear its full weight."
If there is one thing investors should have learned from this credit crisis is that the United States will do whatever it can to avoid a recession. Whether it is printing money or socializing a significant portion of the economy, our government will go to extreme limits to avoid dealing with its sins, be they in the past or in the future. The unfortunate consequence of that stance is that it's unlikely the new democratic administration will do anything in a proactive measure to solve the problem. In fact,, the President-elect's proposals will make our problems much worse.
George W. Bush was about as fiscally conservative as Lyndon Banes Johnson but Barack Obama shows no signs of being any more conservative than his predecessor. His promises of "free" education and healthcare, for starters, should only guarantee that the U.S. Treasury Department's announcement that it will borrow $550 billion in the fourth quarter is just the prelude to future deficits to come. As long as foreign central banks continue to purchase our debt and keep interest rates low the problem doesn't seem acute. But net foreign purchase of U.S. debt was about $550 billion in each of the last two years. According to estimates from Goldman Sachs and Moneymorning.com, the Treasury must raise $1.4 trillion in new money in fiscal 2009, which would leave about $850 billion to be financed domestically.
Because we don't have the adequate savings, our annual deficits should lead to much higher interest rates and inflation. We Americans must hope that the Obama administration is honest with the people and makes some difficult choices early in his tenure to deal with our growing annual deficits and long term debt. But as history reveals, we have a habit of only dealing with a problem when we have no other choice."(snip)
from
Boiling down some of the points made by author Michael Pento and connecting them to earlier posts ...
- it is probable that the US gov't will reconcile the $7 per hour US minimum wage with the $2 per hour actual cost of global unskilled labor by inflating the US dollar to the point where 7 future US dollars will be needed to purchase what 2 current US dollars will buy. Same principle would be applied in some degree to future social welfare benefits and future retirement benefits, where the same $1000 per month in future US dollar denominated benefits will only buy 2/7ths or $287 current US dollars worth of goods.
- it is probable that as the US gov'ts spending continues to spike upward (i.e. money for bailouts, money for increasing unemployment and social welfare benefits etc.), that foreign gov'ts and foreign investors will refuse to loan the US gov't additional money (i.e. voluntarily buying new US Treasury bonds at affordable prices). This will then force the US gov't to do whatever is necessary to convince lenders (foreign or domestic) to lend it additional money so that those unemployment checks, welfare checks, gov't paychecks, Social Security checks etc. can continue to be written. If foreign lenders don't co-operate (out of fear that they won't be paid back in future US dollars that are equal in value to the present US dollars they would be lending - or perhaps not being paid back at all a la Argentina), then the US gov't will have no choice but to reach out to domestic sources i.e. the American uber-rich. The author estimates that the amount of additional money that needs to be borrowed in 2009 will exceed the 'appetite' of foreign lenders by some $850 billion !!! The method needed to make this $850 billion in new US gov't borrowing possible would be to offer the American uber-rich the option of purchasing US gov't bonds which pay TAX FREE interest, and at a sufficiently high interest rate to convince them to buy.
- With the announced Obama plan to raise tax rates on the American uber-rich rendered meaningless by the gov't necessity to borrow huge amounts of money from the American uber-rich (i.e. rendering a large percentage of their future earnings tax free), the gov't will then have little choice but to attempt to raise tax rates on the American middle class - whose paycheck and salary incomes are an easy target. This will constitute a double whammy, because the purchasing power of those middle class paychecks will also be exposed to the same inflationary forces i.e. it will cost 7 future US dollars to purchase what 2 current US dollars will buy.
Personally I don't want to allow myself to believe that the US dollar could be so severely devalued so quickly that one 2009 US dollar will only buy what can be purchased today with 29 cents. Or turning this inside out, not wanting to believe that 2009 gasoline would cost $7 a gallon, that a gallon of milk would cost $10, or that a one ounce bar of gold would cost $2000+.
However, I also can recognize that the entire history of the US attempting to artificially increase the standard of living for unskilled Americans ... back to its origins in LBJ's 'Great Society' programs ... has actually been achieved via devaluing the US dollar, via the US gov't borrowing ever increasing amounts of money from the rest of the world, or via the US selling off its' assets to foreign investors. However, it would appear that the rest of the world doesn't want to lend America yet more of their money, and that foreign investors don't have very many remaining US assets to choose from that are worth buying, such that devaluing the US dollar would appear to be the only available option.
~
Last edited by Melonie; 11-16-2008 at 10:57 AM.



Well my Professor has bought in and we are going through an intense week of assembling data and statistics to show how much good money we are (Canada included) throwing good money after bad. Apparently the Scandinavian countries are going through similar problems trying to bail out Iceland... My prof is more than certain that times are going to get very tough and he says we will experience those Food Riots!
Ouch! Also on another note, in his opinion it also seems that there is still much, much greed and optimism in the markets. People are gambling in hopes of bailouts, that will come... but, at the cost of what? Devaluing currencies to the point that we will be printing money faster than the Weimer Republic in Germany?
Off topic, but I noticed, because of my interest in auctions- that gold jewellery and other gold, silver & bronze pieces can be had at some pretty good prices as live auctions are failing to draw many bidders.
I currently use Proxibid.com to bid on the internet on live auction goods...
Oh Canada, we stand on cars and freeze...
It's amazing to me that conservatives and their media outlets are blaming Obama for things that have not happened and before he even has his first day in office.
I'm with Paris in thinking Gimme a break![]()





elections have consequences, plus some people connect the dots ...
in other words, when the president elect has announced firm plans to significantly increase the capital gains tax, some people sell their stocks to book capital gains before the tax increase is put into effect. When the president elect has announced firm plans to enact a carbon tax, some people calculate that this will negatively affect the profitability / competitiveness of US businesses, and sell their US company stocks before that carbon tax takes effect. When the president elect has announced firm plans to increase gov't social welfare spending by some $800 billion dollars, some people calculate that the US dollar / credit rating will be devalued as a result and thus shift some of their assets out of the US dollar denominated category.
This does not require a degree in rocket science. Nor does it require a crystal ball.
~
Last edited by Melonie; 11-20-2008 at 07:23 PM.
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