Gab@StFerdinandIII - https://unstabbinated.substack.com/
Plenty of cults exist - every cult has its 'religious dogma', its idols, its 'prophets', its 'science', its 'proof' and its intolerant liturgy of demands. Cults everywhere: Corona, 'The Science' or Scientism, Islam, the State, the cult of Gender Fascism, Marxism, Darwin and Evolution, Globaloneywarming, Changing Climate, Abortion...
Tempus Fugit Memento Mori - Time Flies Remember Death
Since 1970 the value of a dollar in any currency has declined by about 85%. There is rampant inflation as prices for goods and their rate of increase in 46 years, far exceeds the increase in income or wages. Modern currencies are being debased on purpose – to allow printing, spending and socialization and the attendant build up of non-repayable debt levels [reduced through currency destruction].
Rome collapsed due to many factors, a key causal factor was inflation and the concomitant dislocation in the political-economy.
On Roman Inflation:
“Adding more coins of poorer quality into circulation did not help increase prosperity – it just transferred wealth away from the people, and it meant that more coins were needed to pay for goods and services.
At times, there was runaway inflation in the empire. For example, soldiers demanded far higher wages as the quality of coins diminished.
“Nobody should have any money but I, so that I may bestow it upon the soldiers.” – Caracalla, who raised soldiers pay by 50% near 210 AD.
By 265 AD, when there was only 0.5% silver left in a denarius, prices skyrocketed 1,000% across the Roman Empire.
Only barbarian mercenaries were to be paid in gold.”
Excellent, insightful, perspicacious.
David Stockman nails the massive debt crisis – or soon to be worldwide crisis – in an illuminating article on China and the Keynesian theological mysticism which believes that magic printed money and endless debt, have no consequences.
The World's debt has skyrocketed in the past 15 years, increasing $60 Trillion in the past 7 years, and governments all practicing 'austerity' apparently, have 'only' increased their governmental debt pile by 10 % per annum. Woe, thy name must be austerity:
So the World only possesses the staggering total of $200 Trillion in debt ? No it is more. The above numbers do not include unfunded liabilities for such worthy projects as bankrupted socialized health systems and their future funding, or the grandees and Mandarins with guaranteed government or 'teacher' pensions. The real debt problem is double or triple the stated $200 Trillion. But $200 Trillion is more than enough of a problem, in a world-wide economy of some $70 Trillion in total size. If we stacked up $200 Trillion in US dollar bills, we would go to the moon and back 28 times. But hey no problem ! Just keep on printing and spending ! 'Science' and 'experts' demand it.
"The height of a stack of 100,000,000,000,000 (one hundred trillion) one dollar bills measures 6,786,616 miles. This would reach from the earth to the moon and back 14 times." http://bit.ly/1Kyc0NJ
Keynesian theology leads to illusory gains and after those bubbles implode, a general collapse.
It reminds me of Law's 'economic miracle' in France in the early part of the 18th century, a monumental fraud which directly led to 1789.
The cult of central banks. Keynesian theology has thoroughly taken over, and corrupted every single central bank in the world. Collectively, these central banks are now engaging in one of the biggest frauds in world economic history. The Keynesian-Monetarists believe the following cult dogma to be true:
-Zero interest rates have no consequences.
-Inflation as modelled by central banks, is non-existent.
-Printing money and funding government fiscal programs generates 'economic growth'.
-Printing money and buying government bonds stimulates 'economic growth'.
-The Central Bank must micro-manage 'unemployment' rates, GDP [spending] calculations, and the velocity of money.
-Since the end of the gold standard, currencies have been 'fairly valued' as mandated by government [not markets, or price points, or economic flows].
None of this cult cant makes any sense. In the real world, beginning with the end of the gold standard in 1971, we can observe as rational individuals the following:
-The collapse of purchasing power of every currency including the US$ by some 65-85%, since the ending of the gold standard in 1971.
-With the devastation of purchasing power, inflation by inference, is a real phenomenon. Gold for instance in 2000 was $300 per ounce. It is now $1100.
-The supply side of capital, jobs, investment and savings creates wealth, not government spending. Every time a supply side 'reform' is enacted, the economy responds positively. This fact is in direct contradiction to central bank theology and statist politics.
-Since 1971 the debts, spending and size of government in every nation state has exploded to catastrophic levels, matched by taxation, corruption and political rigidification.
-Trade agreements have helped to moderate and lower prices and improve product quality and competition. This fact destroys most Marxist-Socialist theology held by about half the population.
The above points are real world facts. With improved trade and economic reform the Chinese lifted 400 million out of poverty. The issues now facing China are familiar; $20 trillion in new public debt, corruption, state cronyism, government distortions in the political-economy, and regional/tribal tensions [and a huge water shortage]. In other words China has followed the interventionist state model trumpeted by the IMF-Central Bank cabal. It too will run into problems [a real estate bubble, illiquid state firms, weak banks....]
Japan, mired in a 20 year depression-recession, is the poster child for Keynesian-Monetarism. Japan needs enormous supply side changes, regulatory-legal reform, tax reform, the end of state-cronyism and political-economic distortion and corruption. Instead the Japanese Central Bank preaches that unlimited money-printing, zero rates, and 'stimulus' through bond-buying and fiscal socialism will revive its broken economy. These policies will only make things worse.
Instead of applying the right mechanisms [trade, true functioning markets, proper interest rates, currency value stability, tax reform, regulatory reform, political-voting reform, a limitation on the size of government and debt]; and developing the right characteristics of a civilized-wealthy state [higher culture, entrepreneurship, self-reliance, savings, investments]; it is much easier and politically expedient to spend, buy votes and artificially float higher stock markets and housing values. It won't last and when the fraud ends many millions will suffer – but not the elite, and not the central bankers.