Mainstream Media Signals Economy Getting Bad
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com
It seems the mainstream media (MSM) is waking up from its long sleep. The dream world of “green shoots” and “recovery” is fading into staggering unemployment and plunging home prices. Most of us in the real word have known for some time that there is no recovery. People are not optimistic no matter how many times they are told things are getting better, and a recent poll by the Daily Beast and Newsweek proves it. The story said, “. . . reality is beginning to break down Americans’ normally optimistic attitude. Three-quarters of our respondents think the country is on the wrong track. A majority say the anxiety wrought by this recession has caused relationship problems and sleep deficiency. Two-thirds even report being angry at God.” (Click here for the complete poll results and story.)
How can the MSM be so wrong for so long? I think talking bad about the economy is perceived as bad for ad sales by top management in the MSM. It is only when things get so obvious that they finally report some real truth or risk looking even more irrelevant than they already are. In a Jack Cafferty segment on CNN last week, the question was asked, “Will Our Economy Trigger Violence In U.S.?” There is no way this kind of segment sees the light of day without people in the organization accepting the idea that things are officially bad. That means the happy talk and wishful thinking that the economy is turning around is pretty much dead, at least for a while. Check out the Cafferty segment in the video below:
Jack acts as if the sour economy was some recent revelation. I talked about the coming storm clouds for the economy and how all the banks were in trouble in March 2008 on CNN. My source, economist John Williams, also predicted it would be very difficult for whoever is president in the 2012 election. (Click here for the video.)
A little more than a week ago, James “It’s the economy stupid” Carville said that the 2012 election could be “very rough” for the President. The real shocker came when Carville was lamenting the unemployment problem. He said, “. . . if it continues, we’re going to start to see civil unrest in this country. I hate to say that, but I think it’s imminently possible.” When a top Democratic strategist such as James Carville blurts that out publically, I suspect it must be common knowledge with the ruling elite in America. Check out the complete video from his phone appearance on the Don Imus show:
There is no recovery except for the Wall Street bankers that caused the financial meltdown of 2008. Of course, the big banks have not really recovered. They’re just being kept on life support with printed money and government sanctioned accounting fraud. Mybudget360.com recently ran a story that claimed the big banks are insolvent by “$3 trillion” and the FDIC is basically broke. The story said, “In fact, the FDIC has an insurance fund that is close to negative and this institution is supposed to back up over $7 trillion in saving deposits. How is that even possible? . . . think of the $13.5 trillion in household debt floating in the market and also the reality that 50 percent of Americans wouldn’t know where to get $2,000 for an emergency in the next 30 days if it came down to it. The entire banking system is hanging by a thread.” (Click here for the complete story.)
When that thread finally breaks, and the economy really blows up, anger will turn to violence just as Mr. Carville predicts. The bad economy is not a surprise to many who are looking at sources other than the MSM for their news. For the MSM to report what is actually going on with the economy, things must be getting dire.
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About the Author
Greg Hunter
Greg is the producer and creator of USAWatchdog.com. The site’s slogan is “analyzing the news to give you a clear picture of what’s really going on.” The site will keep an eye on the government, your financial interests and cut through the media spin. USAWatchdog.com is neither Democrat nor Republican, Liberal or Conservative. Before creating and producing the site, Greg spent nearly 9 years as a network and investigative correspondent. He worked for ABC News and Good Morning America for nearly 6 years. Most recently, Greg worked for CNN for shows such as Paula Zahn Now, American Morning and various CNN business shows.
Snap, When hte kool-aid drinks start reporting facts, you know the end is near
Thank you George, Robert and Sam for the comments and content.
I’m with the LaRouche crowd and we saw this whole thing coming 2 decades ago! It’s like watching a slow motion crash or ice melt.
Yeah, I’m with the Cassandradites… and we saw this crash coming since the iron age. Hey Robert, if you predict doom for 2 decades you shouldn’t feel proud you are right, you should feel like a fool. Us GDP went from ~32 trillion to about ~53 trillion since 1990. The price of lots of consumer goods televisions, phones, computers or stereos in the same time probably went down for a substantially better product. Yeah Rob you’re a freakin’ prophet – now get back to your cave troll.
Mike,
I don’t think anyone is proud of what is happening. How much of that increase in GDP is inflation or real growth? Your points are valid but I would appreciate it if your future comments would not include name calling.
Greg
Yesterday was my first time on your blog. I read two posts, got a bit hot under the collar, and let fly. Now that I have read through your kind responses to your readers and your civil admonishment here… well… my apologies.
Thank you Mike. I am happy you are happy.
Greg
Dear Greg,
Good analysis.
Thing is, the “violence” is already here.
We have a new phenomenon called “flash mobs,” who seem to appear out of nowhere. These increases in violence are due, I think in whole or in part, to the fact that people see that the (p)resident disobeys laws and constantly ignores the Constitution. This leads to what I call the “Bart Simpson Syndrome,” that is, “If you can do it, so can I!”
However, you don’t need the news media to try to learn what’s going on. Public employees treat their employers, the American people, with disrespect and contempt, both on and off the job, that goes up to and includes physical violence and murder. Publicly chastise someone for bad behavior and they treat you as if you are insane. Fights break out over the most trivial.
The economy is only part of this, as ordinary people feel more and more helpless, as there is also a spiritual vacuum in this country as well. At this time, we need REAL LEADERSHIP, including spiritual and moral. What we DON’T need is a party-hearty, flap-eared, empty-suit “messiah” who goes on vacation every time there’s trouble.
Greg, The MSM must report some truth now or take the chance of becoming not relevant. I wonder if old big mouth Carville will say the same thing on a radio or television station who has more than 15 listeners, Don Imus was reduced from “real known” to “obscure” by his own beloved Main Street Media. But your point is well taken and the MSM is starting to report a few real facts now. The question I have is this: Does the economy further retract with honest reporting?
If the MSM reports another recession or no recovery from the fist one will the economy tank even further when our sleeping fellow citizens wake and hear it from their beloved media and then hold onto their money even tighter out of fear? Your article did not speculate or posture a guess as to what happens to the economy, good or bad, when the MSM commences reporting actual truth in earnest should that actually happen. Would you like to tell us what you think will happen positive or negative, or if anything at all, should the MSM do its proper and just job of reporting the truth on the economy?
Thanks Art for the comment.
Greg
Read your post and then quickly looked up the price of silver. Still down at $35.65 as of 9:30 a.m. eastern time.
If your predictions are right, then why is the price of silver stuck in a rut?
NM,
Think long term my friend. The debt is not going away and we will not be paying it back in anything resembling the buying power of today’s buck. Thank you for the question.
Greg
“Read your post and then quickly looked up the price of silver. Still down at $35.65 as of 9:30 a.m. eastern time.
If your predictions are right, then why is the price of silver stuck in a rut?”
I usually don’t blog on these sites, but you are an idiot. Price of silver stuck in a rut?…really? Did you even look at the chart? I suppose gold and other commodities are stuck in a rut too, and the value of the dollar is strong? Hey gotta go American Idol’s on.
At any one time we teter on the brink of inflationary and deflationary forces and this has been taken to the extreme lately. When you see the dollar up and everything else down you can consider that deflationary. The Fed will react with another round of currency devaluation in some form of easing which will be followed by another round of currency devaluations throughout the world. Silver will hold its own and do well in the coming storm. Hold physical, sell ETF’s and all paper except the dollars you need to trade for food etc.
Makes me not want to keep any dollars in the bank. If the entire banking industry is one big pile of bad debt are we not doomed? Gold and silver look better and better…
Stan,
Many folks would agree with you on your succinct point and I am one of them.
Greg
Great post Greg,
I agree whole heartdly with the outcomes of the path we’re on. Yet, a number of my friends and family see things differently. The MSM with the FED proping up the stock market, has done a good job at convincing people of an alternate reality. Take five of my friends for example; one has taken all his money out of stocks and keeps it in money market CD’s at 1.5%; one lives paycheck to paycheck and has no money to invest; two others see the the dangers ahead but just stare blankly when asked what they are doing to prepare; and one actually belives we’re on an upward trajectory. The violence will come, not from these guys, but from a brutal crack down on people stealing food or gas. Revolutions have only occured when people are hungry and when the downward spiral accelerates, watch out it won’t be pretty.
Good stuff Sandy. Thank you for adding to the content of this post.
Greg
Hey Greg,
The DNC shills (MSM) have figured out that their man-child is going to get “beat-up” in the next national election.
In this YOUtube clip, a DNC shill (CNN reporter) gets emotionally involved in an interview with Senator Sessions. Note how she uses her dogmatic retorts to go after Sessions. This woman is an idiot. If it weren’t for her good looks, her only optin in life would be barefoot and pregnant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qD2CDePkOA
The neo-Marxists in the MSM have libeled and slandered Palin for three years; however, even Governor Palin could win against Obama after the depths of this depression is reached in 2012. The MSM is realizing this now.
markm
Gotta love it, with “rulers” who equate cynicism with intelligence my guess is that we can expect only the most draconian response to any hint of “civil” disorder due to their own inept attempts to manipulate our economic system.
I can see it now, the blue helmeted “peacekeepers” will show up from seemingly out of nowhere as if they were a clone army that materialized from the imagination of George Lucas. Their purpose of course will be to take “neccessary measures” to ensure the continuity of government.
“Prepare for the worst and hope for the best”, but most know hope is not a strategy unless you’re Obama.
Anyone that isn’t stockpiling food, cash and PM’s, and self defense items is fooling themselves. When the collapse comes, the paycheck-to-paycheck generation will be devastated and will hit the streets seeking sustainance.
I really hope I’m wrong.
Greg,
The unseen dynamic of inflation is that the ‘profit share’ grows while the ‘wage share’ of GDP decreases.
The ‘wage share’ is the real component of a currency while the ‘profit share’ is a proxy for the debt portion of a currency. A currency is either strong or not depending on the ‘wage share ‘ of GDP.
For more, see What if Paul Volcker didn’t fight inflation?
Greg, So the MSM wakes up. Who cares? Anyone with half a brain knows this will end in tears for most of us. I saw the signs many years ago when I walked out on corporate American in disgust. My thoughts then where that our way of life was unsustainable. Look who’s catching up! One thing is certain, if Carville says it in public, TPTB fear it in private and you can bet it is coming soon. When it does, I for one will do everything in my power to survive. Those that survive are going to blame some people for this mess and they will be brought to justice, not in the courts, but in the streets. It will be the only affordable justice available to the ordinary citizen. Hell’s coming to breakfast free of charge.
Right on, Greg!
Meanwhile more than $6 billion in Iraq reconstruction funds are missing…”Witnesses testified that millions of dollars were shoved into ‘gunnysacks’ and disbursed to Iraqi contractors on pick-up trucks, with what seemed to be little financial controls or accounting on the part of the U.S. government.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110613/us_yblog_thelookout/more-than-6-billion-in-iraq-reconstruction-funds-lost
Wouldn’t you just know it. The slant of that broadcast was the possibility of violence “if things get any worse”, not why the heck have Americans been so docile for so long. I think the message was really that the big power men and their big propaganda tool (MSM) are worried Americans will run amok and not stated, but implied, their solution is going to be to crack down even harder on any protests which may pop up in the future. There is no desire to remove the source of the anger. They intend to force a suppression of the anger instead. Notice how the problem is often misdirected towards too much spending on social programs and too many immigrants, instead of too much spending on war and too little control of the banksters and corporats who are the true architects of the downfall.
Expect only to see a further degradation of human rights in America when the elite sense that the economic reality has at long last penetrated into the thick skulls of a majority of Americans. (It’s hard to ignore when you are sitting on a curb or lining up to get food stamps.) The only certain type of employment in the future will be as an enforcer (military, police, TSA and so on), a surveillance agent or the MSM. And of course there will be work at McDonalds and Walmart and other subsistence paying service or retail companies because enforcers, spies and mouthpieces will still have needs to be met.
Americans will have to dig deep to recover their revolutionary spirit because that’s all that will save them now. The revolution in Egypt didn’t begin until enough people were just too exhausted to maintain their state of fear. Perhaps that is what will happen in America. I hope so.
Thank you M.Rocknest for the thought provoking comment!
Greg
Greg ,
The Main Stream Media are left wing zealots educated by left wing zealots in a left wing dominated educational system– and that’s a fact.
Unlike Dollar Bill Clinton who knew how to run to the middle before elections, Obama does not have that gift. I have never seen an administration with such a defection list. Obama is left of Chairman Mao and even the hardcore Liberal first the truth second media realize that. Obama has no prayer of re-election and the best the MSM can hope for is a watered down RINO ( like Romney) whom they will make tow the line. Palin isn’t even running but the continued attacks never stop, 25,000 e-mails revealing nothing more than some death threats which they won’t even acknowledge.Obama is now a huge liability to the Mainstream Liberal Press as a November style massacre is looming large for them next year, they will lose the Senate this time around and hopefully maybe much much more. I am not a Republican but a libertarian and pray that WHOEVER the MSM’s get behind is not elected.
Read “Bias” by Bernard Goldberg to get an insight to the MSM and who they really are.
Martin,
At this point, I don’t see how Mr. O gets another 4 years. He is out Bushing Bush. Thank you for your comment.
Greg
Greg, the overwhelming negative sentiment among top economists and investors is finally seeping through to the blind who have been high on the blue pill for some time. You know when the talking heads on the MSM start cracking, public frustration as Jack Cafferty alludes to, is close to the boiling point. You have to feel for those who have followed the rules all their lives by getting an education, working hard, and building an nest egg only to see it slip away. But then again, people like yourself and your blog have done everything to educate people on what to expect. Time to get defensive big time!
Thank you Glenn and Jan.
Greg
Call me jaded, but I think the MSM is setting up the President to ride to the rescue and win in 2012. As Rahm said “never let a good crisis go to waste.”
We do not need to resort to violence, we need to get more people to register and vote. We the people have the one thing special interest money cannot buy and that is our vote, I wish more people understood they have more power than the special interest have money.
Greg,
This was a good blog post. There is a lot to chew on in this one, but one sentence in particular really stuck in my craw.
“Two-thirds even report being angry at God.”
I could go on for the next two hours about that one. I’ll keep it short and simple. This country has been thumbing its nose at Him for the past fifty-plus years. Rather than heeding His Word it decided in the early 1960’s it was going to start taking direction from twelve black-robed liberal morons who comprise what is known as the US Supreme Court. The history of nations that have gone down that road is not very good. The dustbin has been the final destination for all of them. It won’t be any different with this one, either. A whole lot of liberal, stupid, arrogant people are going to find out Who the real Supreme Court is on Judgment Day and there won’t be any fast-talking, smart-ass Harvard lawyers in sight. They’re already being shown Who makes the rules in life but they’re too liberal, stupid, and arrogant to accept that and consequently realize why all of this is happening. I’ve told people for a long time that I felt that Roe vs Wade put a death sentence on this country. It looks like it’s coming to pass.
I don’t know why I wrote twelve black-robed morons – there were only nine at the time, as is the case today, and that’s enough to put any country six feet under.
Tom,
I would never be mad at God. Wall Street–yes!! Thank you for weighing in.
Greg
geuss we are going back to the old bartering system. smh. I”m going to start stocking up on all kinds of seeds starting tomorrow.
Thank you Marcus for the comments.
Greg
I think I’ll go invest in some livestock too. Real talk. No joke
Thanks , Greg. I always enjoy your posts. It really cuts through all the extra stuff one hears on MSM. Keep it up, thanks.
Just for anyone interested, I read a book in 1992 by Larry Burkett titled “The Coming Economic Earthquake”. Despite his forecast being 10 years late, the book is, for the most part, spot on. I have read it twice recently, just to confirm that what he predicted really is happening. The book certainly warned me to live cautiously with an uncertain future not far off.
From Canada, thank you again, Greg.
Thank you Brian and Mitch.
Greg
as I have said before … the bubble has burst and all of the QEs and other gifts to the banksters were just to keep blowing air into the bubble in hopes that the world will catch up to the bubblenomics to keep a deflationary death spiral from happening.
from my observations every time there is a bubble within the economy government trys to prop up the bubble (blow back up) so the rest of the economy can catch up. However, with the CDOs and weapons of fiscal destruction have beset the world economy and the only way out is international default to the banksters and declare those debts invalid ….. essentially ending the global bankers and their fiat currency scheme
The depression has always been here, for some, for others we just wanted to be like the billboard and the people on tv that the term “savings account” was completely wiped from our minds. The generation that is getting old are the ones that have propped up the economy for ages. Their savings meant more credit cards and slight of hand dealings with banks. Now the shell game is over, the greed has brought us here…surely someone knew this would happen…who are they? Why arent they in jail? WHY IS IT US AND OUR GRANDCHILDREN THE ONES HOLDING THE BAG? Just like 9-11, we didnt kill those people, the enemy did, but WE are the ones who pay the most. Sorry Greg, ya know i love ya!
BLT,
You are correct, and I have been asking the same questions. The biggest ? is why haven’t any of the big Wall Street bankers gone to jail. They just keep getting bailed out!! It makes me want to puke. Thank you for your support and comments.
Greg
Well you can only “con” and delude some of the people some of the time before they eventually and slowly wake up that reality is not how the media and Government wish to portray it. Thus eventually to retain some semblance of credibility MSM has to begin reporting the true story – well, some of it at least. For too long every mildly positive bit of economic news is over spun and over “reved” and everything negative is underplayed.
You quite rightly said in your piece:
“How can the MSM be so wrong for so long? I think talking bad about the economy is perceived as bad for ad sales by top management in the MSM. It is only when things get so obvious that they finally report some real truth or risk looking even more irrelevant than they already are.”
Many of us here that have worked for large businesses with substantial marketing budgets can attest to the fact that when actual or forcast profits(or both) are down significantly the advertising budgets are usually reduced to decrease variable costs. Of course the media outlets are only too well aware of this and so see it in their interests to talk up the economy and down play poor economic news in the misguided hope that their ad clients will continue to spend on the basis of manufactured confidence.
Being a follower of matters automotive, I recently read an automotive article which is perhaps a reflection of the integrity of big media. This was written by John McElroy on WardsAuto.com and entitled “Bias in the Media” (when perhaps he should have called it fraud). He said,in part(Feb 17 2011):
“In 1992, producers of “Dateline NBC” paid a consultant to rig a Chevrolet pickup truck to burst into flames when a vehicle crashed into its side-mounted fuel tanks. The fiery footage was used to bolster “Dateline’s” show attacking General Motors for having unsafe gas tank designs.
But viewers never were told the fuel system had been compromised or that the vehicle was outfitted with pyrotechnics to ensure it would catch fire.
In an impressive piece of investigative work of its own, GM uncovered the fraud. The network had to settle a lawsuit with the auto maker and publicly admit the crash test was doctored.
Last year, “ABC World News” aired a report in which an auto electronics expert modified a Toyota Avalon to cause it to suddenly accelerate, seemingly all on its own, as part of a story on unintended acceleration involving Toyotas.
An investigation by Toyota later revealed the expert had introduced new parts and re-engineered Toyota’s circuitry to produce the result, something that couldn’t happen on its own in the real world. But viewers were never told.”
These are a few rather good examples of the integrity of some of our mainstream media organisations.
So are we supposed to trust “these types” to provide accurate and objective hard news and current affairs reporting? Hardly.
They do excel though in misrepresentation and, of course, in those critically important areas of trivia and “info-tainment.”
All the best.
Sean S,
This statement in your comment is brilliant!! “Many of us here that have worked for large businesses with substantial marketing budgets can attest to the fact that when actual or forecast profits(or both) are down significantly the advertising budgets are usually reduced to decrease variable costs. Of course the media outlets are only too well aware of this and so see it in their interests to talk up the economy and down play poor economic news in the misguided hope that their ad clients will continue to spend on the basis of manufactured confidence.” Thank you.
Greg
As bad as we are in Europe at last you guys are beginning to realise the depth ot the problem in USA and the snow job the MSM has been laying on the public .Bill Gross encapsulates the situation by stating USA worse than Greece.There will be consequences.
Thank you Rob, Tom, Sling and Phil for the great comments that added content to this post.
Greg
Greg:
Great post……I read The Great Reckoning by Lord Rees-Moog and James Dale Davidson back in ’93 and refused to beleive it. Well it has unfolded just as they said in the book. I went to ground in precious metals (all in) in late 1999…….now to find a place to live where the riots are on TV and not outside.
I am wondering where the news media is going for protection from a angry populace. Notice how these commentators are not so bias in their reporting? Do they feel a shift in POWER. Maybe they figure that they may be on the wrong side when it all goes down. Do they fear being in the same category are Wall Street Bankers and bumbling Politicians? You will hear them say, “We tried to give you the truth in news, but my boss wouldn’t let me”. Do you think the masses are just going to write them off as being misguided after a lifetime of LIES? How about a poll of what people think of the NEWS MEDIA? Do they think we are all stupid? As far as I am concern, most are Parrot Heads spewing the garbage of the Bankers and Politicians.
Are the reporters willing to jump off the cliff with the others?
Naw, they don’t make as much money.
Hey Greg
I see on the not too distant horizon a turn around by our government. I think they will start a crack down on the bankers and Wall Street Icons in an attempt to control the public hysteria. The public loves a good distraction and what better than going after the ones who (Did this too us). It would take years to decipher what went wrong and who’s to blame and it could be broadcast on TV all day long. Just in time for the elections if I am correct. People love it when someone has to pay for their wrongs and just like the Roman days of the coliseum, people love public display and this could be used to quell the public from taking it to the streets. Just one more organized demonstration meant to calm the masses, at least until the HERO gets re-elected. Phil
Dear Greg,
Many thanks for your revealing articles. What do you see happening this year-end when extended unemployment runs out for millions of Americans?
Bill,
I see things getting much worse for the folks at the bottom end of the spectrum, and that is most of us. Thank you for your question and commnet.
Greg
greg,
no big time wall street bankers in jail? that one is easy. the deeply corrupt doj has to go to jail first. all red shield affiliates are above the law because red shield makes the rules.
hard for me to digest a lot of the posting today. nice to see folks waking up, but disturbing to see so many who still talk in terms of liberals and conservatives. if the msm is so liberal, why is it owned by conservative corporations?
one poster even thinks that we can still turn this around at the polls.
the next resident of the white house will be, whoever redshield wants it to be. voters do not decide elections, vote counters do.
don’t worry about barbarians at the gate, we have already let the vampires in.
keep following the yellow brick road and don’t pay attention to the man behind the curtain.
Thank you G. Johnson and Norm.
Greg
Civil unrest? Absolutely! Solution? 3rd world status! Think thee Unthinkable (one damn time please!) if you do,welcome to that esteem group of “central planners and central bankers”- BTW,its how they keep score on this global plantation they created way back in 1972,thru the Club of Rome~ they wrote a book on it! Titled: “Limits to Growth”! What? You think they kept it a secret? Hardly—-just ask Dr.K!
They all decided to quit lying to us and tell us the truth for once ?
Please let’s not forget that another election cycle is upon us and the best liars of both parties are still insanely hungry and weiner mad enough to stay at the helm to guide the ship into the iceberg hoping that their pack of lies and delusion’s breaks the ice.
Thee is something to be said about bad men and women and those who follow them to the end.
There’s not a snowballs chance Hell that a good moral person would run for President of the Titanic in 2012 so all we are left with are liars,egotistic closet perverts and madmen.
I think were about due,hell is coming a knocking to the USA !
The wicked shall be turned into hell,And all the nations that forget God.Psalm 9:17
Greece is the Word, Part Three: Sacrificing the Dollar to Save the Euro or the Greek Revolution Will be Televised.
The most prominent speculation on the monetary front (if one listens to the talking heads) is whether or not the FED will institute a QE3 program once QE2 comes to a close at the end of June. A more pertinent speculation might be will Helicopter Ben and the boys at the FED still have jobs in the not too distant future. The Feds long standing policy of not revealing just exactly what they are doing in the cloistered halls of the Eccles building was brought to an end by a court ruling on FOIA requests seeking disclosure to find out just exactly who got that $700 Billion in TARP funding. There was little surprise and no small amount of anger when it was revealed that a large part of it went to US subsidiaries of European banks.
Having been exposed as taking better care of their European banking masters than the US citizens (which is their charge) one would think that the FED would take it as a lesson learned and refrain from the practice in the future. Apparently the arrogance of the elite knows no bounds however. It seems while they have been feeding the public and the politicians that this latest round of money printing was needed to prop up the DJIA and “stimulate” economic growth here at home by providing funds to domestic banks to fund loans to business and individuals, the reality has been nothing more than another rescue program for the European banks.
Since the inception of QE2 in November of last year the FED has printed in excess of $600 Billion in new magic money. If the reader will take the time to examine this chart it will tell you all you need to know.
(The chart is shown on my blog post)
The blue area represents the cash reserves of small domestic banks in billions of dollars. The grey area is the same for large domestic banks. The purple area is for foreign banks (those with US operations that can be used to transfer US dollars from here to their European operations.)
It doesn’t take a genius to see that since November the reserves of domestic banks have remained largely flat and that those of the European banks have gone vertical. And by how much? Oh just that $600 Billion or so that Bennie boy has printed.
So what’s going on here? Once again it doesn’t take a genius. On Wednesday the Greek parliament is scheduled to vote on the latest austerity package and the next round of bailout for their bankrupt economy. (Read kicking the can down the road to default one more time.) Problem some of the members of the ruling PASOK party are announcing they will be leaving the party in protest of the plan. If their numbers begin to grow passage of the proposal may become problematic. With the Parliament building surrounded by ever increasing crowds every day the psychology of fear and concerns for the personal security of the members would seem to be taking root. Small wonder then that there have been reports that the long abandoned escape tunnel under the Parliament building is being cleared out by foreign workers in case the situation tips over the edge.
Neither should we be surprised then that the ECB (European Central Bank) recently announced that it would be able to withstand a Greek default. Thanks Bennie, the US taxpayer and yet unborn generations just got to save the Banksters again!
Got gibbets? Just how much longer the taxpayers are going to stand for this ongoing theft and fraud remains to be seen. Probably until it’s too late, if it isn’t already.
peace, grow food
does anybody know where i can buy a 50 caliber? Greg if it gets that bad we all better have enough ammo and automatic weapons!
Hi mike,
A 50 caliber didn’t help the people of Joplin or the people who lived on the northeastern coast of Japan.
A much wiser move pray hard and fear the Lord because He is the one who has made our leaders blind idiots leading the nation into a deep,deep ditch.
‘With Him are strength and prudence.The deceived and the deceiver are His.
He leads counselors away plundered,And makes fools of the judges.
He loosens the bonds of kings,And binds their waist with a belt.
He leads princes away plundered,And overthrows the mighty.
He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders.
He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty.
He uncovers deep things out of darkness,And brings the shadow of death to light.
He makes nations great, and destroys them, He enlarges nations, and guides them.
He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.
They grope in the dark without light,And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.’
Job 12
Nice article Greg,
Frankly, now that the media is starting to report the coming storm, it’s way past the point of no return. What baffles me on a daily basis is the abject blindness of almost everyone around me. I work in an office with most folks on the downhill side of their professional careers watching their 401ks believing all is well since the DOW is over 12k(until the other day).
I think the “status quo bias” is so strong that until they are starving in the street they will refuse to believe economic collapse is even possible in America.
If it weren’t for my faith in Jesus; I would be panicking right now. I had an unction at the end of 2010 to start stocking food. I think I’d like to triple what I have so far. I don’t have enough cash to bother with precious metals so I will only worry about barter items for now. Though after the collapse many PM holders will be happy to trade an ounce of silver for a can of corn. I doubt I’d take it though.
Faith in Christ will be the only long term solution for the gathering storm.
Frank,
I still heard the work “temporary” and “soft patch” on CNBC today when talking about the downturn. They just will not stop.
Greg
I have a question – about gold and silver. I understand how in conventional and classical terms, in the longer scale of epochal historical variations in strengths of economies, rise and fall of nations, economic trends over the ages – when trouble starts, and it always has, does and will continue – then there is a value hedge in owning gold and silver.
But with recent market up-ticks in precious metals – I can’t help but worry about the early 1980’s when there was also an up-tick in metals – and many people began buying gold like it was going out of style. Then eventually the price of it fell and it was a long time for those people to recover what they invested into pure gold metal.
So here is the million dollar question – what makes the early 1980’s gold rise and subsequent fall in price situation different from what it is today – and if I buy gold, how can I be more assured that it won’t be another bubble in precious metals like what happened in the 1980’s?
I’m not being argumentative. I’m just saying – I am old enough to remember what happened back then and how I at first rued that I had not bought into the gold market – but then later on, was happy that I had not – or else I would have lost money a year or two later, once the buying bubble burst.
Thanks for your good columns, enjoy them very much.
D,
If currency is backed by gold (as talkeds about by several experts recently in this site) it will go up and stay stay up.
Greg
Follow-up question also – but if one was to buy into gold and/or silver (or any of the other precious metals) – what is the best way to do this? Is it to buy metal in ingots and store them in the house (serious question though it might sound silly to stockpile ingots under the mattress, but legitimate given today’s financial and economic conditions)?
D,
I wrote a complete post on the home page of the site titled “How do I buy Gold and Silver.” This is my best advice and it is not motivated or influenced buy anyone. It is my unvarnished opinion. Please read it all and it you have questions please write back. By the way, I DO NOT SELL GOLD OR SILVER, but I think everyone should have some in a diversified portfolio. It is up to you to decide how much.
Greg
Only thing the so-called MSM is good at is being wrong. Gerald Celente, Marc Faber, Peter Schiff, and a few others has been warning about civil unrest back in 2009! The misses keep on coming from the MSM.
Greg,
Do you need any more evidence of Left Wing ideology dominating the Mainstream Media than NBC editing out “under God” from the young children’s reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance On Father’s Day– On Sunday??
Despicable.