The U.S. financial and political system has become possibly the most corrupt system in recorded history. But even worse is the willingness of the American public to endure and even accept the blatant corruption that has engulfed the system. The latter attribute is best explained by the psychological phenomenon known as “Stockholm Syndrome.”
The poster-child for this analysis, of course, is Hillary Clinton. Clinton should be spending all of her time defending herself from being thrown in jail for life. Instead, she gets annihilated in the New Hampshire primary voting and yet comes away with the same number of delegates as her opponent. It’s almost as if the more evidence is released which shows that Hillary Clinton broke laws and seriously compromised national security the more popular she becomes with ideologically blind Democrats.
Same for Trump. The only reason he has achieved some measure of support is because he’s willing to challenge the long running corrupt establishment politicians and there’s enough people who sense that the crux of the problem is Washington DC. But Trump is not the solution to the problem – he’s part of the problem from the Wall Street side of the equation. Trump is the guy who has run his casino “empire” into bankruptcy three times – “Chapter 33” (Chapter 11 x 3). He’s no more qualified to run the country than is a pedophile to run a daycare center.
As for Wall Street, I’m watching in horror as the same problems that blew up the financial system in 2008, problems which were never fixed, have become even bigger and more dangerous. Yet the public whistles by the graveyard as they are about to be subjected to money market fund gates and a cashless monetary system. The EU is getting ready to abolish the 500 euro note. And Larry Summers, one of the most insidiously corrupt public officials I’ve seen in my lifetime, has proposed abolishing the $100 bill. And no one cares.
A digital currency system not only will enable the Government to monitor everything you do with your money, it will also enable them to more easily “corral” any money you keep in a bank in order to use that capital for the bail-ins which will inevitably hit the system when 2008 Redux hits the system.
It’s not a secret to anyone paying attention, but the Government spending deficit is on the cusp of going parabolic. The one-time accounting games and fleecing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to help “fund” Government deficit spending and to enable the appearance of of a smaller deficit are now used up. No one seemed to care, but the amount of Treasuries outstanding jumped up by about $700 billion to $19 trillion right after Congress and Obama raised the debt ceiling limit to $20 trillion. Folks, that’s money that has been already spent but which was hidden from the actual 2015 spending numbers by Jack Lew’s magic accounting wand.
Now that China is openly liquidating its Treasury holdings, the U.S. Government will need to find another source of funding for its Ponzi schemes. Enabling “gates” on money market funds will help the Government channel big waves of capital into Treasury bonds via Treasury mutual funds. Notice there have not been any proposals to gate those. It’s another backdoor bail-in that will be implemented on a complicit public.
I said back in 2003 that the powers that be would hold up the system with printed money and credit until they were done sweeping every last crumb of wealth off the table and into their pockets. But I had no idea what that process would look like. Now I’m starting to see how my prediction is unfolding and I will admit it’s clever. It’s the “boiled frog” strategy being executed with near-perfection.
Money market mutual fund gates, which go into effect in Q3 – and a digital currency system – which could go into effect before the end of the year – are nothing more than totalitarian capital controls in disguise. I have no expectations other than that the public will embrace them with eagerness as I suspect they’ll be shoved down our throats in the name of national security.
For anyone who “gets it” and who is paying attention to what’s happening, my best advice is to start moving as much of your money out of mutual funds, retirement accounts and banks and into physical gold and silver that you safekeep yourself. Ironically, at a time when the eschewal and ridicule of precious metals by the media and the clueless masses has reached an epitome, now is the best time since the bull market began to convert fiat currency and custodial-held wealth into gold and silver bullion.
Really good Dave… but please proof read prior to publishing! Or get someone to do it for you.
Why don’t you proofread it for me? Or better yet, why don’t you start a blog for which you write 1-2 articles a day and see how easy it is to get everything typo-free
Only problem with silver and gold coins, the government will
eliminate the one ounce coins. That will be done for reasons of
national security. If you turn your one ounce coins in, you receive
treasury bonds to go along with the bank stocks you are given in
exchange for your fiat currency. Oh yea, if you do not turn in your
one ounce coins when commanded to do so, you are now considered
a terrorist or terror threat.
Black markets Jim.
Meth, heroin, cocaine, etc. The business is as big or bigger than it ever was. Did making those illegal stop them?
As Michael Pento says, they will have to take our gold and silver by force.
I couldn’t agree more Dave. I moved out of my IRA, figuring that paying the tax now will be cheaper than letting the government tax it later and force my funds into government bonds. I moved cash from a big bank into a credit union. Keeping enough there to be able to write a check for 2015 taxes. Hopefully it is still there when I have to write the check.
I’m acquiring gold, silver and BitCoin, and I keep some cash at home. How is that for a diversification strategy? And of course, I take advantage of your recommendations in the SS Journal.
I also have some food, steel and lead handy. We collect rain water and have a swimming pool that keeps full with the rain here in Florida. And the garden is coming along nicely.
I hope it is enough to weather the storm. My bigger hope is we never have to use it, but I’m a realist, not a dreamer.
Love your column Dave.
Great article! I just had a discussion about these issues with a good friend of mine this morning. We are both frustrated that our other friends and family members won’t listen, and in fact act as though you are crazy, when we tell them the banks own their deposits now, and by LAW. There will be a mess with derivatives contracts (again), the overnight lending system will freeze up (again), banks will declare a holiday for several business days (like Greece and Cypress…beta tests), and then people will panic.
Then, under the Hegelian Dialectic, our leaders will respond with a confiscation of most people’s hard earned money, and right out of their friendly neighborhood banks. Food and other items we take for granted will be hard to find. Your 401K and pension funds will take a double whammy; first as the stock market goes down and down, and secondly when those assets are borrowed against by the Federal government. The bankers, those who actually caused the problem by their incredible corruption, greed and arrogance, will walk away scott free (again). Then we will truly have 99% poor, and the other one-percent very, very wealthy.
The masses don’t care because when not working, most of their time is spent posting and gawking at inane stuff on their mobile phones. The lower the masses sink on the intellectual scale, the easier it is for the thieves in Wall St and Govt to steal more and more. Maniacal following of all kinds of professional sporting action all year long, living lives on social media, these are all programmed habits developed by the elite to keep the masses occupied with trivial stuff and not have any capacity left over to question any govt policy.
Matt is so right on this. People have been “mind-numbed” to the point they don’t or can’t care about things they should be concerned about. As a chiropractor practicing for over 30 years, I can tell you fewer people care about their health compared to decades past. They care about pain or other disturbing symptoms, or dying. But when the symptoms [often the tip of the iceberg] go away or are sufficiently mashed by an ever-greater intake of prescription or OTC medications, it’s back to a life with little concern for the lifestyle that got them to a point of bad health.
Comparisons can be made to the slowly-tightening totalitarian controls on their lives. These controls will morph into more draconian controls, and only when the pain and symptoms are disturbing enough will they have an interest. Like their health the problem[s] will be chronic and hard to change.
The money market funds–I started thinking about the $2.7 Trillion in those–what happens when we do go to NIRP–money market funds as we know they are toast. they should be toast now given expense structures and what they can get in gross returns if they do not push the envelope.
I’ll defend Dave on typos–if you are multi tasking with time constraints it happens easily. Not a substantive problem. I have a daughter, a lawyer who looks at what I write and is critical. My reply is its time sensitive info and its not a novel.
Great article. I too KJH am preparing as you. I also live in Florida. I am concerned about the confiscation of one ounce coins/boullion Jim wrote about. Does everyone think that could happen? How are we to protect ourselves? If cash won’t be king, should I put all my money in 1 oz bars, 10 is bars?
I wish I was younger, I would leave this country ASAP, but I’m tied to my Physicians :{
Just found this interesting talk by Michael Riverio:
http://www.howestreet.com/audio/Goddard_Report_Rivero_2016_02_155.mp3
(1) Speaking of U.S. corruption being off the scale, questions raised about Judge Scalia’s death. Heart attack victims don’t just lie there, they thrash around. He wasn’t found in a disheveled condition, just the opposite. Many normal protocols weren’t followed.
(2) Mention that Bernie Sander’s win in New Hampshire will be stolen by Hillary, because of Super-delegates, designed to thwart populist candidates, be they right or left.
(3) Talking about U.S. Bombing in Syria, not against ISIS but against Assad. And the back story about Oil Pipelines, that most of us already know about.
Riverio’s a pretty interesting guy, used to work for NASA..
Rivero is America’s best kept secret.
It’s going to be very hard for ordinary people , we dealing with insane criminals.
look what happened to BRICS , they all down by manipulators.
What will happen to gold in case there is WORLD WAR , they will use ordinary people to fight for them again(for bankers). What happens to gold and people if the West win or if China and Rusia win. There are many outcomes , hard to predict and see the future. It’s going to be very tricky.
Dave,
This is all great but Bob Pissani told me it’s just the great ‘decoupling’ so it’s btfd time again 🙂 Did a central banker just check the seat of their pants? Dow 30k dudes lol
So what are you guys going to do about it ?
At least Dave is putting his heart into it and trying to do something about the endless corruption, I have to
respect him for that.
There are numerous websites and blogs in the States that have the best of intentions, but what has changed in the last 5 years ?
You all need to apply the same intelligence level that made America great in the first place to remove these crooks from office, NOW, while you still can.
You need to stop talking and start acting !
United we stand, divided we fall.
As always, great analysis, Dave.
Thoughts on a gold/silver grab- A law passed is not a law obeyed. Someone once said “We have ten thousand laws on the books to basically enforce the Ten Commandments, and we do a lousy job at it.” Consider this, despite billions spent over decades, the US is losing the war on drugs, otherwise why would marijuana be legal in so many cities and states? As goes the war on drugs, so will go the war on cash and precious metals.
Still worried about a confiscation? They go for bullion first and jewelry last, so taking up the art of jewelry making to turn bullion into bracelets (brass plated bracelets) is an idea to consider to soothe your nerves.
Speaking of corruption, there is no doubt in my mind that at some point in the not too distant future these sociopaths will eliminated cash and confiscate gold, as a precursor to a reset of the system.
So Dave, what will happen to investors like you and me who had the foresight to see this train-wreck coming, and moved into cash and gold?
1). If cash is banned, will my cash have value and will I be able to spend it in this post-Constitutional America?
2). If holding gold is made illegal, assuming you refuse to turn over your personal property to the state, how will you be able to sell or liquidate an asset that is illegal?
Thanks!
Zen
I don’t foresee them making gold illegal. Gold has been used as money for over 5,000 years. The U.S. has been around for less than 240 years and probably won’t be around long enough to see 300. Any way you look at it, you are going to be better off holding gold than fiat currencies.
I think we will have to differ on that score.
Gold was money for 4013 years prior to 1933 and that didn’t seem to stop Executive Order 6102 from being signed into law.
If confiscation could happen then when gold was coveted by the masses it sure the hell could happen now when the masses consider it nothing more than a pet rock. Who would bother putting up a fuss over some barbarous relic?
If they are willing to go to all the trouble of overtly manipulating the gold market to support the fiat dollar, it isn’t much of a leap to go one small step further and simply criminalize the ownership of it.
I share your view that we are all better off holding ounces vs. paper, but I’m also of the opinion that the state will make it very difficult for anyone to profit on the collapse of their beloved fractional reserve fiat system.
Rickards speculates that after a dollar devaluation and establishment of a new gold standard, the govt might impose a 90% “windfall profits” tax on any gold held by private citizens, in the interest of “fairness.”
It’s easy to imagine that proposal getting lots of popular schadenfreude support from all the lemmings who didn’t have the foresight to convert some of their cash into gold.
Heh. Rickards is a charlatan. But good luck taxing my gold. It’s very easy to transact with gold and silver eagles in the private market. Anyone who pays taxes on their precious metals is an idiot.
Again, black markets arise when people want to obtain, sell, or transact what government has made illegal, be that harmful drugs or harmless possessions.