jal
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Steve from Virginia has it right: industrial society cannot pay for itself, at least until the thorium reactors or nuclear fusion give us the net energy to grow out of this massive debt.
Off topic
Has anyone ever calculated how much heat is being released into our environment by oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, and volcanoes?
Having thorium reactor as another heat producer does not seem me that there would be any decrease in the amount of heat that is being pumped into our environment.
Global warming problems … here we come.
I encourage relocalization, decentralization, small scale, resilience, reduced dependencies, simplicity, community, flexibility and emergency preparedness. This is what we need to do for reasons of financial crisis and peak oil and climate change, and a host of other factors arising from reaching limits to growth. Climate is not ignored here, even though it is not specifically addressed.
You forgot one thing.
Debt freedom which will also result in overall freedom.The surest way to keep people dumbed-down is to keep them under constant chaos and stress because then they have no time to think, to evolve.
I see some truth to that.
My experience, The Mother of invention, is boredom, not necessity.
In conclusion, (long discussion deleted), Those people who had an insight into an aspect of what goes on in our heads were involved in the financial meltdown and made a fortune.
If all the actors in the financial market “knew” what goes on in our heads there would not exist a stock market that can be “gamed”.
What she ignored to mention, (of which I’m sure that she is aware), was the criminal role that bankers played with leverage and outright theft of all kinds, that resulted in our financial crisis and world wide social awareness and displeasure with the status quo.
Here is a long dissertation that is worth reading.
(It happens to agrees with TAE)https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-11-18/europes-depression-japans-disaster-and-worlds-debt-prison
Is it possible that we are waiting for the world to conform to our worldview once again, but that it would be smarter to adjust our worldview to conform to the world?
@ jd
Gail has put out a good analysis for the novice.The obvious is being stated.
One day we will run out of cheap energy.
Its going to cost more.
Local alternatives will help to extend some level of our present system.
Changes are coming and should be in everyones plans.What she ignored to mention, (of which I’m sure that she is aware), was the criminal role that bankers played with leverage and outright theft of all kinds, that resulted in our financial crisis and world wide social awareness and displeasure with the status quo.
Since you are not running for election and therefore, must sugarcoat everything, then prepare for changes, (which you are doing).
Now, researchers from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the country’s Public Health Agency have shown that pigs infected with this form of Ebola can pass the disease on to macaques without any direct contact between the species.
Moral of this story
Don’t raise pigs
:ohmy:đ
:woohoo:
Iâm trying to get an understanding of what is happening and what could be happening to the USA economy.
The following links seem to give an accurate picture.
Budgets are proposed income and expenses.
âThe Cliffâ is a proposed budget.
I think that it would be better if we thought of a daddy telling 10 children that they are spending more money than daddy is making.
Nobody will volunteer to reduce their spending.
Since making more income will not happen,
Who or what will force the spending cuts?
Should we ask the Greeks?https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=213787
The “New Normal” In Pictures
ďżźHere is what Mitt would like to eliminate concerning FEMA.
Give the responsibility to the states and even better to give it to private industries.
He did not say anything about stopping the flow of money to the states or the oversight of this money.đ
Its an interesting web page full of information.
Go help yourself.
https://www.fema.gov/leadership
FEMA
Regardless of potential budget limitations in the future, FEMA will continue to fulfill our most important mission to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we will work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
Proposed funding levels for specific PPAs are as follows:
Salaries and Expenses (S&E): FEMA requests $789.172 million, 3,771 positions, and 3,576 FTE.
This represents a net decrease of $197,956 million, and a decrease of 726 positions, and 695 FTE as compared to FY 2012 Enacted (P.L 112-74), with directed transfers.
For FY 2013, 726 positions and 681 FTE will be funded with transfer from the State and Local Programs appropriation.Forget growth.
Every disaster is One step forward two step back.
Don’t look back. You’ll see the cliff.
What lies ahead is only a small pot hole.
New York is asking for $30billion from Fed.
In making the case for federal aid, the governorâs advisers provided a staggering inventory of need as the city and state continued to rebuild in the stormâs deadly wake: $3.5 billion to repair the regionâs bridges, tunnels and subway and commuter rail lines; $1.65 billion to rebuild homes and apartment buildings; $1 billion to reimburse local governments for overtime costs of police, fire and other emergency personnel; and several billion dollars in federal loans and grants to affected businesses.
Businesses throughout the city and state lost $13 billion after being forced to close for days either because of damage to their property or because employees could not get to their jobs with travel restrictions widely in place, according to Cuomo aides.
The amount the governor is apparently seeking would exceed the roughly $12 billion in FEMA disaster aid currently available in Washington without action from Congress, where there is likely to be strong opposition to more spending.
A long time ago, before TAE, I made a priority list and tried to find the best ways of implementing it in the event of disasters.
Its pretty basic stuff.
Housing
Water
Sewage
Garbage
Food
Money/tokens/bartering supplies or skills
Heating/cooling
Transportation
Health
Security
Communication/social interactionIts not much different than what you would want to consider if you were to go on a wilderness camping trip.
Inflation is a tax on ONLY those who cannot increase their income to be equal or greater the rate of inflation.
Those would include people on foodstamp, people getting no raises or less raises than inflation and those with income/savings earning an interest that is less than inflation.
If you want to keep your standard of living then you have two option.
1. Cut your wasteful spending
2. Increase your income.
If you cannot do either then …Deflation devalues ONLY assets of the people who are disposing/selling their assets.
If you are on foodstamps, you got no assets and no money to obtain cheap assets that are for sale.
I’m not going to quibble with the definitions.
The effects of inflation or deflations will impact individuals differently depending on their position on the economic scale.
Our economic system has not been structured for the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
There are very few sister Theresa and none of them are in position to get rid of our system and to start a new better system.
That is why both the money supply and the velocity of money must necessarily be part of any serious definition of inflation and deflation. Without them, no such definition serves any purpose. Other than keeping people stupid, that is.
ilargi, I do understand what you have been saying. Its not just price.
I was trying to point out, that this time there are some rich people who have a strong influence on the prices we pay for goods. This was not present or was not obvious in an inflationary economy.
Lets be clear on who is getting the most and benefiting the most with the 46% overspending.As Karl been constantly repeating, the free shit army won again.
(bankers, insurance, ponzi players)
We can all understand that rising prices in a rising money supply will both originate in, and lead to, a completely different situation than rising prices in a falling money supply.
Some people are enjoying a rising money supply and can modify their action to keep the money flowing to their coffers.
The majority of the people are helpless and are facing a falling money supply and rising prices.
The number of people on food stamps are the obvious witnesses.https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-11-10/foodstamps-surge-most-one-year-new-all-time-record-delayed-release
Foodstamps Surge By Most In One Year To New All Time Record, In Delayed ReleaseOne glance at the number reveals why: at 47.1 million, this was not only a new all time record, but the monthly increase of 420,947 from July was the biggest monthly increase in one year.
Being on foodstamp does not make you a winner when you are in a deflation or an inflation environment.
Something I’ve learned from the blogs.
If you spend money that you don’t have, because you borrowed it or printed it, it will appear as if you are rich and prices will go up to take your money. ( Inflation)
We have been spending money that we don’t have for 30 years.
(inflation)I recall $1,000/month gave a life style that today $100,000/month does not.
I think that we are in a RESET mode.
The super committees, (rich people), spent Billions of dollars on the election so that they would be sitting at the table to make sure that any future legislation would not be harmful to their interest.
If the gov. lowers spending and gives less to the spenders, (poor), then there will be less profits from that source of income.
The rich will have to raise prices to maintain profit margin for their “New yatch fund”.
If the gov. tries to reduce loopholes in the tax code then there will be less profits from that source of income.
The rich will have to raise prices to maintain their “New yatch fund”.
If the gov. increases taxes on the rich then they will raise prices to maintain their “New yatch fund”.
See… its nice to be rich … you get to write the new legislation and can keep your “New yatch fund” growing.
Re.: Nanny STATE
Lets be clear on who is getting the most and benefiting the most with the 46% overspending.
As Karl been constantly repeating, the free shit army won again.
(bankers, insurance, ponzi players)
The propagandee, if deprived of one propaganda, will immediately adopt another, this will spare him the agony of finding himself vis a vis some event without a ready-made opinion.
Destroy the “belief” is the same as destroying the believer.
Most people want to “be a team player”, “want to fit in”, “want to be part of the society”.
Most people do not want to be shunned, do not want to be a hermit.
Re.: Energy Waste, wasting or misappropriation of resources
the problem with reducing energy use is that it goes against the whole growth/consumerism paradigm that we currently exist in.
Have a marathon or …
Spend a billion for an election or …
Have a dictator or ….
Another timely discussion.
https://www.oftwominds.com/blogoct12/oil-abundant-costly10-12.html
Why Energy May Be Abundant But Not Cheap  (October 29, 2012)
With that caveat in mind, the preponderance of evidence supports the notion that fossil fuel energy may remain abundant in the sense that supply meets or exceeds demand in a global recession, but the price of liquid fuels may remain high enough to create a drag on growth, employment, tax revenues and all the other economic metrics impacted by high energy costs.
Shedding some light humor on a dark subject.
Philosophy is like being in a dark room and looking for a black cat.
Metaphysics is like being in a dark room and looking for a black cat that isnât there.
Theology is like being in a dark room and looking for a black cat that isnât there and shouting âI found itâ.
Science is like being in a dark room and looking for a black cat using a flashlight.-unknown
I appreciate the huge amount of energy that you put into this article.
Problem was well highlighted.
Possible solutions were well enunciated.
(No s-f scenarios.)Thanks. Again.
The following is gaining attention on a lot of blogs.
https://removingtheshackles.blogspot.ca/2012/10/43-trillion-money-laundering-lawsuit.html#comment-form
$43 Trillion Money Laundering Lawsuitfederal lawsuit now impending in the United States District Court in Brooklyn, New York (Case No. 12-cv-04269-JBW-RML)
JZ post=5815 wrote: Good god, Denninger is an unbalanced extremist crackpot. He prescribes cutting all deficit spending. I’m sorry but that is positively insane in a deflationary event like we are experiencing.
hahahah
The fine pickle that we have been led into by our financial experts is insane.The experts knew how to lead us into the slaughterhouse.
I repeat, its too later to avoid the hardship that is coming.
heheh1
I’m sane. Its everyone else thats weird.
đż
đ
Just a short observation on Mit. and the pundits.The msm pundit keep repeating that Mit wanted to talk about the economy etc. in the debates, because its supose to be a winning strategy.
YET …
Nobody does talk about the economy. Well not quite. Obama said that Mit’s math doesn’t work.
The only one who does talk about math is Karl D.. He quite rightly says why they wont talk about the math/economy.
It cannot be fixed. Its too late to unwind 30 years of borrowing without real pain. (See Greece)Karl should know that the pundits know that the undecided voters will vote for frivolous reasons such as his smile etc.
Here is a fix.
It matters upon [strike]perspective[/strike].
It matters only if you can finish the month with some money left in your pocket after having obtained the necessities of life.
You should get your prospective from the “entitled” poor, not the “entitled” rich.
Does anyone remember the price of a “Shave and a Haircut”?
I understand the deflation and inflation, as you have so often explained.
The deleveraging, a.k.a. ]bdebt deflation, has hardly begun,[/b] and it for now remains largely hidden behind a veil of QEs. That doesn’t negate the fact that ultimately QE is powerless to stop it, even as it sure manages to fool a lot of people into thinking it can.
What I see, going forward, is a continuation of the momentous battle between the 01.0%. Those who have cash and access to the printing press against those who are forced to sell or must take a haircut and/or relinquish their claim on an asset.
the IMF saying European banks will need to sell $4.5 trillion in assets through 2013.
Those entities that could not pay their interest on their loans or pay out a dividend are the dominoes that caused the crash when they were asked to return the capital to the lenders. ( Letting the market decide the winners and the losers. ie. Lehman bros.)
Letting the market decide the winners and the losers would end the financial system.
Sooooo …
The ponzi financial system is now kept growing and stabilized by having the gov.printing press substituting and replacing the cash flow that would normally be generated by the printing press of the banks. (lending money that they donât have so that they could get a cash flow from assets.)Having an asset, such as a house that has been abandoned, rotting and not generating a cash flow is perfect for a bank that is receiving a substitute cash flow from the gov. printing press. This keeps everyone who happens to be relying of that cash flow continuing with their life style as if nothing has changed. Checks for pensions, dividends, U.I., S.S., keep right on coming just like they have been for the last 30 years.
The problem has now moved to include the governments. If a government cannot print money to continue replacing the cash flow of the banks then their only options is to reduce the cash flow to their own population, austerity, (Services and Checks for pensions, dividends, U.I., S.S. and health care).
That is the one thing Ben and Mario have power over: they can give money away that you will have to pay for down the line. They can lend it out to banks knowing that it will never be repaid, and not care one inch. Knowing meanwhile that you won’t either, because you don’t look at what’s down the line, you look at today, and today everything looks fine. Except for that graph, perhaps, but hey, how many people are there who understand what it says?
Saving the big banks means saving the financial system which means saving the ability of government to continue giving Services and Checks for pensions, dividends, U.I., S.S. and health care.
At The Automatic Earth, Nicole – Stoneleigh – Foss and I have been saying for years that deleveraging and debt deflation are an inevitable consequence of what went before and an equally inevitable precursor of anything that may come after. And I have often said that the deleveraging will be so severe that what may come after is only moderately interesting, since you won’t hardly recognize your world once deflation has run its course.
As long as governments can keep printing to keep the cash flow going, deleveraging will continue at a slow pace.
Players, in the 1.0%, in the game can make the system destroy itself by buying gold and waiting for a profit due to hyperinflation.
There will have to be many more Greece before hyperinflation hits the USA.
Meanwhile, Iâll cut my own hair and only get a haircut for special occasions.
đDoes creeping inflation hurt?
Does borrowing to pay for todays consumption drive prices up?The rule of thumb is that 7% causes a doubling in 10 years.
Therefore, prices, without considering improvements in mfg or compounding should, after 50 years, have doubled 5 times.
A 10 cent large coke should be about 50 cent.
Do you think that we have had only a 2% inflation over the last 50 years?
Check your facts and memory at.
1957 Sandwich Menu From Woolworth’s… â¨https://www.thepastisablast.com/Nostalgia_quizzes/woolworths_sandwich_menu.htm
Who is making me poor?
My local barbershop owner is not giving up his lifestyle.
Last year, at this time, he raised prices by $2.00 to $12.00.
This year he raised prices by another $2.00 to $14.00.Since the majority of his clients are seniors, on fixed income, he must be losing a number of his clients.
He might have too many gov. friends advising on what to do to keep his lifestyle.
Would prices go lower or would profits increase when PE firms get involved?
hehehe
The question doesn’t need an answer.… all clearly intended to buy the target companies at more favorable prices.
Geee!
There is not a true market of competition.
Is this the real “free market” that we have always been living under?I can’t even imagine the “feed fest” that could be happening in Europe.
It must be nice to have access to free money and free loans to be able to make a killing.
Cough … cough!
poverty here we come
The message is too late for aprox. 75% of the USA!
If you still have savings and mad money you are definitely not part of the 99%.
Those charts and “Household Net Worth” are only really good for making some elite feel good …
“I got mine and still got it”
The original question …
What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Or rather, it’s a nonsensical excuse, albeit apparently credible, to keep the looting going until there’s nothing left to drag off home.
Transparency!!!
1. The looting has already been done and its over.
2. Realizing that there are too many other claims on the same asset that you think that you have all sewed up in your pocket.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-12/great-chess-game
Here is the main point of the article.
“Humans are selfish creatures, we all want the best for ourselves, our family, our town, our tribe, our country â that is just part of human evolution that has enabled us to succeed. However that competitive streak has outlived its purpose and is in fact destroying us. The ultimate in selfishness is really the desire to survive â donât we all want to survive (and hopefully prosper)? If we are going to fulfill that ultimately selfish wish then itâs actually necessary for us to evolve beyond competing and abandon clearly failed and destructive actions.”
Read it again and weep.
The combined Individual “wants of a better life” create the growth of societies.
None of us living can change our wants.
Hopefully the surviving generations will be able to find a compromise that will allow them to survive.
RE. “when credit evaporates”
THE USA HAS BEEN LIVING OFF CREDIT FOR 30 YEARS.
When the USA starts living within its means you will be living in the worst depression that the world has ever seen.
Debts will become uncollectible and wealth will disappear from many “rentiers”.
RE. WWIII
Who would use radiation active oil or products?
Who would go to work in a radiation active field?
Who would live in a radiation zone?hummm!
Is it possible that someone can actually think and do …
“If I can’t have it or keep it I’ll make sure that nobody else can have it.”Conventional warefare, burning, bombing, can do the job adequately.
No need to use “THE BOMB”.By now, I assume that everyone has heard the debate …
Change is coming …
Change are being proposed …Capitalism vs socialism as alternative futures.
Opposition to any change is universal since we are all in one or the other side of those two options (benefiting).
Those with the most to lose from a change will put up the strongest opposition.
Those with the most to gain from a change will put up the strongest support.
Finding a third option would require that everyone takes a loss and will cause the most opposition.
All possible change will cause pain.
Will you voluntarily submit to those pains?
Serious questions and reflections upon various topics makes this blog one of the best.
This means that there are other blogs that have thinkers and opinionated commentators.Here are some quotes from a good piece to add to the âsoupâ.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/10/what-if-the-global-financial-crisis-is-permanent.html
âWhat if the Global Financial Crisis is Permanent?â
â… IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard seems right when he forecast on Wednesday that the world would not recover from the financial crisisďżź until at least 2018.
But what if Blanchard were wrong? What if his premise was incorrect?
What if our obsession with economic growth and measures of growth turned out to be an illusion.
These are questions others have asked as well, ranging from the longue durĂŠe historians of the Sorbonne, who are attempting to pinpoint capitalismâs demise by 2100 (economic systems, like those of feudal Europe or the Roman Empire, apparently last 600 years),
Great comments and analysis.
Just want to add to davefairtexâs commentsSo the banks about-to-be-rescued need to stuff themselves full of bonds which will raise the prices of those bonds. I think that part is happening now, and going relatively well, especially if the hedge funds and others desperate for yield pile on once they see a trend change.
Also, this money printing doesn’t come for free. Over time a larger and larger share of government spending will go to interest payments, crowding out spending that normally would have gone to defense, infrastructure, medical care, education, social safety nets, and pensions. Austerity is all about imposing those costs immediately and specifically rather than hiding them in a “deficit”.The financial wizardry will likely work. The social aspect? I am less confident.
When the banks are are playing this musical chair game it can continue for a long time. During this time, the governments can restructure their spending habits to some level of sustainability. The interest doesnât need to be paid. It just needs to be rolled over into a new bond.
The problem occurs when one of the players, bank or hedge fund, decides to walk away and demands its money back with interest. Then, since nobody has any money, the game comes to an end and the system collapses.What !!!!
Six, 6, more years!!!!I say to the Greeks,
Keep making austerity promises and austerity budgets, to keep getting free money from the troika.
The Troika is already doing funny bookkeeping.
but, but,
Don’t cut the spending.
Keep doing your own funny bookkeeping.
You got nothing more to lose.
Do like the Troika.
Keep the game going as long as possible.
