Obamacare is the Reason for Anemic Growth-Karl Denninger

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Analyst and entrepreneur Karl Denninger predicted years ago that Obamacare would “kill the economy” and “eventually implode.” Today, the first quarter GDP came in at just .9%, and Denninger contends Obamacare is part of the reason the economy is so anemic. Denninger says, “Since the crash in 2008, we’ve had 2% GDP expansion roughly on an average basis, and you are trying to expand the growth of one program in the government by 8.5%, and that’s not going to work. This is the problem you have. What Obamacare has done has caused the 2% expansion. . . . So, what has happened here is we have taken this program and crammed these costs into the economy on a mandated basis, and the result is the productivity expansion has gone into the toilet.”

Another big problem with Obamacare is the pre-existing conditions. Denninger says, “When you say an insurance company has to cover pre-existing conditions, what you are saying is if this condition costs $10,000, we are going to make it cost $12,000 because the insurance company has to make money. The cheapest way to pay for a condition that costs $10,000 is to write a check for $10,000. That’s just basic math, and yet nobody wants to deal with this. So, the high risk pools were in the process of collapsing, and as a result, you had Obamacare come into essentially force everybody into the risk pools. That was the whole point. Everybody has to buy health insurance and, therefore, force you to take things you cannot get. For example, as a man I, can never need maternity. . . . If you have these things that I have to pay for in my coverage, but the probability is zero of using it, then what you have done is stolen the money from me and given it to somebody else. . . . I don’t think this can be fixed at the present time.”

Denninger, a professional trader, says the financial markets look eerily like they did just before the “dot-com bust” (2000) and the financial meltdown of 2008. Denninger explains, “This is the same sort of situation we are in today. Nobody knows how long it will go on, but you are in a place right now with record margin debt in the United States. That’s very, very dangerous because at the point the margin calls start, the cascade is almost impossible to stop. You’ve got imbalances throughout the system. You’ve got the Federal Reserve where it has to start taking risk off the balance sheet. . . . We all know how this party is going to end. The building is going to catch on fire, and the door is one person wide, and there are 15,000 people in the room. The problem is figuring out how far it goes. At the point the market wakes up to the fact that none of this is going to get resolved at all—ever, that’s when it comes apart. . . . Risk/reward is in a bad place right now. P/E numbers are very high, and the growth numbers are very low”

Join Greg Hunter as he goes One-on-One with Karl Denninger of Market-Ticker.org.

(There is much more in the video interview.)

After the Interview:

Karl Denninger goes on to say that the best thing you can do to help yourself in the health care area is to work to improve your own health. Denninger says in 2011, he was 210 pounds and only 5 foot 10 inches tall. He could not run a half mile. Denninger says he totally changed his diet, cut way back on carbs and ate only healthy food. Today, he weighs 155 pounds and is running half marathons.  There is free information and analysis on Market-Ticker.org.

 

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Comments
  1. Matt In Pa

    Well stated. And I cannot blame Karl for bugging out on his previous site, Market Ticker. This fraud of so called market’s is absolutely insane.

    • Pls

      CBO disagrees w the shillpuppet author. Ahca covers 89% . A real flexible framework for the working poor. Bad news for the healthcare bigs.
      And a damm Shane people with precondition cancer and MS now can’t be dismissed for mercenary reasons.

  2. Faith

    Great interview! The discussion about insurance costs and those costs not being disclosed in advance is very relevant in my situation. I spent three weeks in the hospital last August / September and was on home-care (self administered) IV antibiotics until the end of October. The VA ended up paying for my hospital stay (as there were no beds available at the nearest VA along with the matter of my being too sick to transport). The cost of my hospital stay was around $150K. That is insane! I also have Medicare, an HMO plan. After I was discharged I did ask the HMO how much they charged for outpatient CT scans and how much would I have to pay as my portion (20%). They couldn’t tell me. I found out once I got the bill. The charges are insane! $1250 for a CT scan! My copay is 20% which is around $300. I can get CT scans with no copay at the VA but my outside doctors may, or may not, get the results of those scans. The VA sent me a CD but one of my doctors looked at the CD like it was from another planet and said they didn’t have any equipment to download it to their system. How hard should it be for any doctor to send other documents / records / files to another doctor? It shouldn’t be that hard! I actually had the records clerk at the VA ask me if I knew the “mail stop number” for my HMO. Mail stop number? They are a private organization and, as far as I know, the only people that use mail stop numbers are government offices! Everything I visit the VA it is like dealing with the bureaucrat in Kafka’s novel, “Metamorphosis.” The clerk that turns into a cockroach at the end.

    Anyhow, I have learned to use this app: Good RX. My local Kroger pharmacy price matches the best price shown on the app. I hold up my phone and they type in that amount. Make sure to download the coupon. I didn’t realize I had to download the coupon to get the best price even if it is Kroger! Anyhow it is a great discovery and I never go to the HMO pharmacy because the prices are double (or more) what they charge at Kroger and I always pay cash.

    Anyhow, this interview, based on my recent experiences, was illuminating. It is crazy that the hospital, Doctor, HMO, can’t give you a flat price! For me the closest I can get to a flat-price is my deductible. I am guessing other people, like myself, are scheduling procedures now because they realize if they have complications those costs will be mostly covered once they pay their annual deductible. I am lucky my deductible dropped from $3K a year to $2K a year. So that will be the cost for my upcoming surgery and tests. It is a crazy way to think about dealing with being sick! I am simply grateful that I have another option other than going to the VA for surgery and I am grateful that I have the $2K to pay for the deductible so it isn’t that big of a deal (other than being cut open).

    Anyhow, the only disagreement I have with your guest is that he seemed a bit snide with regard to people that choose to own PMs. There are costs for everything and some of us prefer to accept the costs (both purchase costs and capital gains costs upon sale) associated with PMs as a long-term strategy to preserve our wealth. (By long term I mean 20-to-50 years). I do agree with his advice prior to friends before the dot-com bubble burst in 2000: it isn’t yours until you sell (if you are invested in paper). Of course the opposite is true for PM holders: we physcially hold what we have purchased which means we will not end up with nothing (unless we have to pay a large bribe to a border guard). By the time people are leaving the country and bribing border guards you know things have gone very, very wrong!

    In conclusion I would say that this period reminds me the most of the 1987 crash. Many people will be taken by surprise but there are many other people that are ready and willing to do the hard work to fix our society. At this point I don’t think anything can be fixed in the US until we admit that our expenses are too high and the government has promised too many people too many things. Eventually the US will reach a point where we have that come-to-Jesus moment and we will have to admit, to ourselves and the world, that the US is insolvent. I remember when I filed for bankruptcy in 2010. It isn’t a good day when you have to sell stuff in order to come up with the cash to pay an attorney in order to file for bankruptcy. It is a humiliating experience. But once you come up with the cash, and file the paperwork, and get over the humiliation you understand that spending money with reckless abandon is not a good way to run your life. When will the US have a similar epiphany? Soon. The numbers simply do not add out. The US economy is in a death spiral and eventually everyone is going to realize all of the numbers are a lie, unworkable, and not feasible. The day that happens will be the beginning of a more honest way of life.

    • This sceptred Isle

      Interesting article exploring the relationship between debt and the stock market.

      “But there’s something else you can do: don’t worry about earnings at all, just reduce the number of shares in issue. Then simple arithmetic will drive up earnings per share for you. And if you don’t have the free cash flow to spend on share buybacks, then you just borrow the money.”
      http://moneyweek.com/money-morning-debt-and-equity-markets/

    • Deanna Johnston Clark

      Excellent….I read it all.
      There will be no magic unicorn ride back to 1959…and there were plenty of poor people in 1959 anyway. America has to “get its act together”.
      Did you know that senior disabled people who also work qualify for Medicaid in most states? The income limit is twice as high as usual. They want such people to continue being active and participating in society.
      I tell my grandchildren how proud they will be of their grandfather, when so many are sitting around waiting for a govt. check…he works AND waits for a govt. check, hee!hee! With all the free marketers I’ve known complain about Social Security, not one refused it.

      • Faith

        DJC, I appreciate your patience.

        I also see a time when there will be no government checks. The day that happens is going to be a huge wake up call for a lot of folks.

        • Deanna Johnston Clark

          Before that, Uncle Sam needs to cut out Social Security for people who are already double dipping pensions. But SS for retired people is already paid up. The real problem is all the disability people who have been given that as compensation for unemployment.
          As for SNAP and other entitlements, the soldiers and minimum wage earners not only need them, the grocery stores and Walmart and farmers simply will not allow those to be stopped. Those govt. “handouts” are a mainstay of the whole economy. Taking SNAP from Walmart and Amazon, etc. would simply be impossible.

          The Welfare Queen image was never decent…but now its totally ignorant and outdated. We’ll see how Trump handles the scaling back of some of it. They can start with Congressional salaries and perks!!! Hee! Hee!!

    • susan

      Thank you so much for the “Good RX” heads up. I am so excited. I have to take a very expensive medicine and the Good RX coupon will save me nearly $300 a month. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

      • Faith

        Susan, that is such a blessing! I am thrilled to hear of your savings! It was a complete accident that I found out about it but it is so simple to use!

        You are so welcome! Thanks for the feedback! Take care.

        I am getting ready to install a small garden in my back yard and recently discovered this beautiful couple that shows how to grow food using various containers: from small raised beds to tubs to plastic bins to paint containers and even recycled coffee tubs! They are so humble, so beautiful and a lovely Christian couple. https://youtu.be/p1VC_uZOdyo

        I have been watching all of their videos and have learned a lot!

        • susan

          It is such a blessing. Thought you would like to know that I am a pastor’s wife in a small town in Montana.

          • Faith

            Susan, you are so sweet! I love Montana. I used to go to visit a friend in the Bitterroot Mountain Range. Hamilton. It is so beautiful!

            The lord works in mysterious ways! I know if I found an extra $300 a month I would be jumping up and down but, in case you were not, I was jumping up and down for you!

            No one has ever said they received such a huge benefit from anything I have posted so it was just amazing to hear that you could do something so simple and have such an immediate benefit!

            I am still jumping up and down, actually 🙂

            God bless you! Glad to hear you and your hubby have chosen to do the lord’s work. That is a special calling!

  3. Jack-G

    I like Karl’s thinking! I have my chicken-coop complete with chickens in the backyard right next to the garden and brambles. I see the thinking behind gold and silver and I do have a very small amount of silver, however, if everything goes to heck in a hand basket I am not confident that either will be of much use. Food and skills will be the order of the day in my humble opinion. Thanks Greg for having Karl back on. He is one person who has nothing to sell, thinks outside the box, and tells you just what he thinks . There is no pretense with Karl! Great interview as always. Thank you.

    • This sceptred Isle

      ” if everything goes to heck in a hand basket I am not confident that either will be of much use.”

      True, but then if that’s the case people will probably steal your chickens and any other food you have, especially if you keep them in the backyard!

      • Randall

        Jack; Karl like many of my friends who use the ” how do you make change with gold coins”, or the farmer has the upper hand etc. all miss the best point. What would Karl use to get the chicken / eggs from the framer? Notice how what they would use to get the tings they need. I say you are correct gold, silver and chickens is the best way, but like the old axiom says. “Silver feeds the family and Gold saves your life. I hope he can BS that border guard cause he won’t carry any gold.
        Randy J

        • Charles H

          Maybe the Border Guard will really be ‘Jones-ing’ for an egg that day.

        • Jack-G

          It is called barter. It is actually older than money and works very well for those who prepare themselves with something to trade…….usually a service but maybe an item that one has a surplus of. Silver or gold never produced a chicken or an egg and I for one wouldn’t care to eat metal meals. But…RandyJ you enjoy your BBQ’d metal :). All kidding aside, I am sure, for wealth preservation, PM’s will play some part, however, I have little wealth and tend to worry about just surviving. I hope neither of us will ever need to discover who had the best plan.

          • Frederick

            Yup I know some Ukrainian girls and boy do they barter fantastic services lol

  4. FC

    I just listened to someone who said it’s better to have 10 chickens than a stack of gold coins. It’s best to have both, the chickens are to endure the hardship and Gold is for the other side.

    • This sceptred Isle

      problem is how do you hide 10 chickens from a starving mob? Like you say it’s best to have both.

      • FC

        In my hat and I won’t be pulling any out 🙂

      • FC

        IMHO Karl is an intelligent person who would be up to eyeballs in PM’s but he is telling the world it’s the dollar he trusts in and not the barbarous relic, why attract attention to yourself from the Authorities? …………there are so many boating accidents they will believe.

        • Clare Doll

          FC,
          I’ve been thinking about all the pros and cons today and after reading your comment, I’ve decided you are one smart cookie.

    • Dr Darryl Jewett

      it’s better to have guns and then you can have the chickens AND the gold (and everything else). in the coming apocalypse, lead will be much more valuable than gold.

      • Greg Hunter

        Dr,
        I suspect if you are smart enough to have Au and AG you are smart enough to have Pb to.
        Greg

        • Edmund Dantes

          if this guy doesn’t understand gold , then he understands nothing. what a moron

      • dbcooper

        Dear Dr. (Please help me I’m Damaged. There’s a pain where there once was a heart!!)) Just kidding We priced powder the other day … whew btw $24 and $30/ Lb. … wow. The only thing going down is my wages!! DB.

  5. Frederick

    I agree with Karl to a point Why can’t you have some chickens as well as some gold and doesn’t he think they will take your chickens as well if TSHTF?

    • This sceptred Isle

      Correct! Every asset has its pros and cons. Try hiding clucking chickens from the starving mobs.

      • This sceptred Isle

        and like you say they are not mutually exclusive assets. Why not own chickens AND gold?

    • Ron

      Good interview, but Denninger seems like a difficult guy to get a simple, straight answer from. If I heard and understood Denninger correctly, he said that the perceived value of the US Dollar (Federal Reserve Note) will not go down; ie, no high inflation, hyperinflation, or devaluation of the dollar. If I believed that, I wouldn’t be holding any gold or silver either.

      And then he said that if there were a SHTF event ( presumably such as a severe depression, hyperinflation or dollar collapse) that it is better to have chickens than gold — however he said nothing about the aftermath of such an event and what would replace the US dollar. I think it will be gold/silver or some sort of gold/silver backed certificates of deposit. It would be interesting to know what Denninger thinks about it in case he is wrong about the demise of the US dollar.

    • The Seer

      Look up allodial title and land patents to really own your land…..

      • dbcooper

        Seer, We own all of our land via certified patent and allodial title … but do you know anyone who has exercised there allodial rights and removed their land from the tax roles ?? … and how did they do it?? Yours in Faith and Liberty, FN, DB.

    • This sceptred isle

      And for properties in UK we have council tax. As well as collapse in property prices council tax could skyrocket. Every asset class has its pros and cons.

  6. Oracle 911

    Mr Denninger suggested a serious problem, which I will address:
    The US healthcare and US politics have one thing in common, both of them are rackets. Because if the healthcare were keeping people healthy and curing their illness, then financing the system wouldn’t be a problem, but the contrary is true. And same thing is true about the US politics at least on federal level, perhaps even on state level.

    About precious metals: they are useless in total collapse of financial and economic system, in every other crisis they are means of preserving the wealth. And he is wrong in one thing, the US$ is on the way out, but the process is taking some time.

    My 2 cents
    Oracle 911

    • This sceptred Isle

      Maybe we won’t get a total collapse. You have to prepare for all scenarios.

    • Frederick

      Nobody ever set a timetable on the demise of the dollar just that its eventual collapse is pretty much a given if you study the history of fiat money Reserve currencies

  7. Paul ...

    Nature solved the health care issue years ago … by allowing “predators” to cull the herd … that is why Obama Care had “death panels” … not sure what Trump’s health care program will contain … but I bet the insurance companies will include some type of “predatory committees” who will make critical decisions as to who gets the medicine to live and who simply gets palliative care and is allowed to die!! … so Trump should make it mandatory that these insurance companies also “promote health” by encouraging people to take multi-vitamins … and Trump should then make the cost of these vitamins “tax deductible” … as an “outright credit” against taxes due!!

    • Paul ...

      People who are sick … should make it their business to keep away from “predator dens” (if they want to live) … and just take the vitamins the body needs “to heal itself” … the “hammerheads” at the local medical facility will “nail you” into a coffin much sooner then necessary (if they make a profit doing so)!!

  8. Brian Schulz

    Greg,

    I am a physician in practice for 17 years. Perfect description of the medical system cartel. Government is the problem. Before Medicare this was not a problem. It is the same problem as the housing bubble with Freddie and Fannie and student loan scam.

    • Deanna Johnston Clark

      Yes…but also the debt burden of new doctors hanging out their shingle.

  9. Paul ...

    You know … if you are trying to sneak out of the country quietly … do you think bringing the border guard ten crates of squawking chickens is the way to go about it?? … and that gold coin in your pocket does not have to be fed each day … and doesn’t ever catch bird flue … what we want of our money is its survival in extreme conditions like drought, freezing rain or even being submerged in ocean water … and it still holding its value … it is gold’s immortal quality that makes gold “money” … “it can live and hold value over many generations” (without care and feeding like chickens) … it is fireproof, termite proof and unlike all fiat “paper money” retains value “because infinite amounts of it can’t be created out of thin air”!!

    • Deanna Johnston Clark

      Good Scotch will get you across any border on earth…especially Muslim countries. Honest to God…

  10. dlc

    The medical business is the only service where the cost is none of your business until you get the bill. How can anyone possibly control their personal costs with such a carnival game as this?

    It is also one of the coldest encounters you will ever experience. All smiles and small talk aside, your physician likely knows nothing about you and could care less. It’s in and out under 5-10 minutes and then on to the next patient to keep that revenue stream flowing.

    My most recent experience involved making an appointment for a particular physician, and yes, I got to see him for 2 minutes so he could say: “Yep, that looks like cancer.” He left the procedure room and a nurse removed the lesion. The waiting room was stacked, as it would be with Obamacare freebies, and so a nurse is now on board to handle the masses.

    Also, now that your care is more political than medical, try getting the politicians to get their mitts completely out of it. You will not see a reasonable solution to this. The set up, as it stands, is to reward those politicos who favored particular interests.

    It is also the biggest “buy a vote” ponzi scheme since SS and Medicare. The politicians have gutted everything else they could think of. Health care is the new Motor City — and just look at where Detroit is today. Same formula and with the same eventual outcome when you think about it. You are paying for those new 8000 plus arrivals (with more on the way) to the US since the shoot down of Trump’s EO. You get to pay, they get to vote — Democrat, of course.

    See, it works out for everybody — but us, the payers. And, since the politicians are not subjected to Obamacare, it’s “what me worry,” no emergency that they can see. On to tax reform. Just watch how they screw that up to favor another set of interests. Why is anyone surprised? We made a nest of 70 and 80 year olds rich beyond their greediest dreams.

    Well, there is 2018 (sarc). So, it comes down to chickens or silver for the rest of us.

  11. dlc

    While we’re on a roll with a Republican Congress and president, where’s that paid family leave bill?

    Who do you suppose will take it in the shorts over this touchy-feely proposal? People have already been made part-time or laid off over the fiasco of health care. It will turn out to be another vote getter where the newly arrived (you know, illegals) get to plunder the working sap. And, don’t kid yourself, the women will still by and large vote Democrat.

    Same thing with the latest talk of “women’s empowerment.” We’re already on the Lusitania. The only empowerment shortly will be a full stomach and a roof. In better times I would laugh at these inheritance types (presidential children) who all assume they hit a homer, a grand slam even, and have all the solutions for the working peasant.

    Here is a laugher, Chelsea Clinton receiving a lifetime achievement award in her 30s. I suppose they’ll leave a blank in the presentation to be filled in later, if ever.

    • Deanna Johnston Clark

      Empowering Women is a divisive, snotty cliche I wish to God I’d never hear again.

    • Frederick

      dlc TPTB are obviously already grooming Chelsea to replace her defective parents or in Bills case guardian

  12. WK Swanson

    Greg, Casey, Williams, and now Denninger all within a week’s time…that’s pretty darned good. So now I’m ready to buy a ranch in Argentina (Casey) while getting ready for the hyperinflation (Williams), and run half-marathons so I can live long enough to enjoy it (Denninger).

  13. David John Williams

    Normally with regard to other people’s opinions, I prefer no response to a negative one…however, when an unintelligible comment threatens to mislead others, one must speak up. Carl is ignorant about Gold, like most people, he forgets the repetition of historical cycles. Illusion and forgetfulness are the same thing, soon the paper wealth illusion will be forgotten and people will remember real wealth. The border argument? Please. Is the whole planet going to play musical chairs?…Is every person from every nation suddenly going to pick up and cross the border to the left?
    As for utility? If all you have is a few hundred bucks…absolutely, buy chickens; but for the millions of others who have more…they should heed the writing on the wall and shift out of the illusory store of wealth and back into the historical store of wealth. One should also understand the nature of an economic crisis; the sports car or other extraneous assets may best be liquidated into useful units of exchange.

    • Charles H

      Karl Denninger is wholly within a system; so his vested interest is there. Precious metals HAVE HAD an historic run as a method of wealth preservation. There is a balance to strike – to all, within their ability.

  14. Deanna Johnston Clark

    He’s totally right about taking responsibility for our health.
    M husband was a musician and like most of that breed, lived on coffee, cigarettes and donuts on out of town gigs. He began losing his eyes with macular degeneration and then emphysema since 2007 No more gigs, sadly. because he loved it, a classical violinist.

    I determined to have only good non-gmo food…the inexpensive way. Yes, it can be done. Being err, less well off, actually helps. He’s very healthy, for a nearly blind man with emphysema….and continues to work part time. We have 7 dogs and they keep us up and moving. He wants to see his 5 grandchildren grow up and I’m determined to help. We’re 70.

    I had a friend who had Type 1 diabetes since early childhood. She was given a few years to live and told she would never have children…very serious. She had a will of iron and her husband stayed with her on a diet of safe food. I knew her at La Leche League nursing her baby.

    So, Boomers…go outside!

    • This sceptred Isle

      Yes, never outsource your health to someone else whether they be a partner or someone who works for the private, profit driven medical profession.

      • Frederick

        I had a neighbor as a child who was a great old school pediatrician and he took care of me till I was 60 My son as well Brilliant man and honest as can be I bartered carpentry for his services Funny his name was Carl Needles

        • Deanna Johnston Clark

          60 Minutes did a spot on another one. Same office in his house for 50 years, no computers or high tech, $5 for an office visit. The whole town hopes he lives to be 200.

  15. Dan

    Great interview Greg. I’m surprised with the fact that physical gold and silver are real money and Karl Denninger doesn’t respect that . Although I agree with his example of dealing with a guard. That is the last person that I would approach with a piece of gold or silver. And besides if America gets that bad what makes him think anything over the “border” is going to be any better. It will be smarter in my mind to stay put and work with what you have. America is rich with assets. Savvy g&s holders will be able to read their audience and know who to deal with.

  16. MJH1963

    I wish he were wrong but I fear Mr. Denninger is correct. Of all of the guests on this website I value his views the most for a number of reasons including the fact that he’s not calling for a complete meltdown tomorrow or even this year. I’m always amazed that a number of guests are still calling a catastrophic financial end to occur this year or some similarly short time-frame. There is still some runway available to this “economy” before things ultimately fall apart. And maybe much more than people imagine. You can’t underestimate the ability of .gov to kick the can down the road a little further and the market’s irrationality can (and will) outlast your ability to bet against it, or something like that…

  17. Laz

    So, the people selling gold are ‘crazies’ and he doesn’t have a PM position at all? Interesting…

    • Frederick

      He basically called Peter Schiff and Andy Hoffman crazies He’s sounding a lot like the Federal Reserve trolls I despise so much I think he is compromised somehow and shouldn’t be taken seriously

    • This sceptred Isle

      Even if you don’t believe in silver’s monetary value it is still a valuable commodity.

    • Edmund Dantes

      because he is a complete idiot or is lying

      • Charles H

        Isn’t the First Rule of Wealth – secrecy?

  18. Allanon

    Great to hear from a guest with a different viewpoint on gold! Healthy! I know there will be all heck breaking loose here today but people need to hear another view point so they can make good decisions and not put all their ‘eggs’ in one basket!

    • Frederick

      Allanon Nobody is proposing to put “all their eggs in one basket”are they? Ten to twenty percent though seems to make ALOT of sense to me

    • This sceptred Isle

      Agreed. We should always expose ourselves to different viewpoints.

  19. john duffy

    Who does the FBI work for?
    http://www.wnd.com/2017/03/pamela-geller-obamas-fbi-wanted-us-dead/

  20. Jerry

    Karl is 100%, spot on, correct!
    Obama Care is nothing more than a Cloward and Piven strategy by the globalist to collapse the American economy. With Medicare currently putting over $1400. a month per person on the governments balance sheet, I think it worked. My wife and I pay $1200. per month for a $5000. Deductible HSA plan.
    Do the math. $1200. x 12 = $14,000. + $5000. x 2 = $24000. total out of pocket.
    INSANE!

    The bigger question is, when it collapses, what will it collapse into?
    To find your answer you don’t have to look an further than what the globalist are doing in Europe right now. http://www.paris-europlace.net/rmb/page028.htm
    The transformation is taking place in the form of international RMB. Anytime there is a financial void that needs to be filled, the Chinese are there to fill it. Last week it was Saudi Arabia. This week who knows? But one thing I can guarantee you, when President Xi comes calling to the White House this weekend, he and President Trump won’t be talking about the price of Tea in China. FYI: Communist historically don’t make deals with Capitalist.

    • Jerry

      Those of you still holding out hope that the central banks will get control of their derivative debt and change their course, should read this headline.
      http://www.globalcapital.com/article/b12b33w026sk2r/basel-committee-slams-banks
      There’s no doubt in my mind that big changes are on the way following the IMF, World Bank meeting on April 21st. The Chinese have just finished installing their block chain currency system in their banks, and will most likely be ready to fill the void should the BIS decide that the threat by the western banks is to great. What that means for the future of the dollar is anyone’s guess, but it probably won’t be in its current status much longer. Whether we have a smooth transition, or a total collapse is a moot point, since the globalist have no problem breaking eggs to make an omelet.

      • Jerry

        Chinese digital banking. Blockchain is ready.
        https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/chinas-central-bank-completes-digital-currency-trial-blockchain/

      • Frederick

        He’s 100 percent spot on huh Jerry I thought you said the dollar was vulnerable and if that’s true then metals will soar What’s up?

        • Jerry

          Frederick I was referring to Obama Care. Karl is clueless about the RMB. China will back their currency with gold. Bet on it. They’re closing the exit doors now. They recently just bought 150 gold mines and ………..promptly shut them down..

          • Charles H

            That isn’t just in the Market – that’s sitting on the Market.

    • Jerry

      Did I mention there’s another , government shut down coming in April?
      http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/27/congress-races-toward-april-deadline-avert-government-shutdown/99685678/
      I’m not sure how David Stockman came up with March 15th? That doesn’t fit the globalist agenda. Just like an Alabama football team, the globalist are methodically moving the economic reset ball down the field, five yards at a time toward their goal of internationalism. If I was a betting man, I would wager that the progressives (who are really globalist) will use the budget battle in Congress to hang the reset on Trump.

      • Faith

        Jerry, March 15th was the date the debt ceiling expired as I recall. The US Treasury still has cash on hand and I have read a number of articles about how much cash is available and how long it will last. Those dates vary from the end of April to the end of May to sometime in June.

        I don’t consider a government shutdown to be a big problem. Good! Let some of those federal employees stay home. Most of them can’t be fired so this is the next best thing.

        I hope Trump uses this event as a way to prioritize the budget and expedite a line-item veto budget ipso facto.

    • Jerry

      Greg,
      When I found this site, it sent chills up my spine. Look who’s on the board of directors. We’ve been sold out.
      https://www.rmbusawg.com/

      • Deanna Johnston Clark

        It’s the Big Club that we ain’t in!!!

        • Frederick

          Channeling George Carlin I see Deanna He was one of the best May he Rest in peace

      • Roger D

        Wow… Yes take a look. Those mug shots should be posted in every post office.

      • Sam Hill

        Sold!! Down the river…

      • Jerry

        Yes friends, take a good look at the agenda they have laid out for the internationalization of the RMB.
        US-RMB-WG-Roadmap-for-Action
        It should concern everyone, that because of their political backgrounds they have direct access to very bank in this country. Clearing houses have already been set up in New York and Los Angles so its just a matter of time (thanks to CIPS) before even the localized banks are on board with multilateral currency transfer.

      • Tin foil hat

        Jerry,
        Do you notice their flag overshadows ours?

      • Deanna Johnston Clark

        They are the best managers…don’t confuse them with ownership.

    • Frederick

      I pay around 500 Turkish lira (150 USD) a month which covers our contribution to my wives pension and gives us both healthcare coverage She also has a private insurance policy for private hospitals ( Allianz) which runs about 500 dollars a month for her I’m 62 and she is 39 both non smokers The US system sure is crazy

      • This sceptred Isle

        Is the problem with the US medical system that it is a monopoly? Not resident in the states so not sure.

      • Tin foil hat

        Frederick,
        ” I’m 62 and she is 39″
        How did you two meet? Are you her mail order groom?

        • Frederick

          No we met when I was on a trip to Istanbul in 2004 and I needed a translator She spent two years in the U.K. Studying English I’m a very young 62 or so people tell me anyway

          • Tin foil hat

            Well, you’re a lucky man and I’m happy for you. Btw, are you saying you have coverage for public hospital only for $150/month?
            I’m asking because you seem to imply your wife has insurance for both private and public for an additional $500/year.
            Do you have to wait long for routine surgery like in Canada or UK?

      • Frederick

        Correction my wives private insurance runs 500 dollars a year not a month

    • The Seer

      Liberty healthshare . Org $181 month for $1 million coverage per. Incident
      Also State Farm has long term health care $1,200,000 worth for
      $600 mo

      • susan

        Liberty Healthshare took me to the cleaners. Be careful!!

        • Charles H

          I’m not sure but that these christian health-shares – start at an advantageous rate, just to get people in. Then, in a calculated timeframe: they raise premiums, or “shares” to very high levels. I had to keep going to a higher deductible, just to keep any coverage on my wife. Now we can’t afford anything.

  21. randy0302

    Smart guy and very informative on healthcare.
    Swing and a miss on Gold! Not going over any borders…stay with your tribe.
    He is correct about chickens …..i have some too.
    Is the USDX a true measure of dollar usage?

  22. Diane

    Most interesting interview I’ve heard .
    I’m going to be following this man.
    Thanks for having him on, Greg.

  23. Dale

    Karl Denninger does not understand gold and his “gold in hand or chicken in hand” scenario is ridicules. Asia has plenty of chickens and no one there is going to give their gold away for a few chickens. Gold does not have to always be reacting to extremes like this scenario above it is here today and is working against the debasement of money printing. It is working in numerous Asian counties everyday as currency. It is working for sovereign countries as a counterbalance to money printing. It is working in Venezula as their currency is destroyed. Do derivatives have any counter party risk? How about gold? I have to ask the question now is it better to store my wealth in chickens or gold, hmmm? Karl I think your smarter than this go to Asia and see how the other half live with gold everyday.

  24. Michael

    Hi Greg,
    Other people may point this out, Karl Denninger’s a smart guy but his argument against owning precious metals is historically flawed. History proves that precious metals have saved fortunes and lives during the most economic turbulent times. You can only take care of so many chickens!

  25. Chip

    Love Karl, smart guy, but ZERO gold or silver? Hmmmm…. Chip

    • Frederick

      Zero metals is nuts I have around 20 percent of my net worth in them and I sleep well at night due to this fact Chip Don’t understand how he can say that with inflation taking off and the dollars reserve status under threat It makes NO sense at all

      • This sceptred Isle

        and silver is so much more than money…
        It provides energy – solar panels
        It is used to clean water
        It fights superbugs
        Most efficient conductor of electricity.
        And best of all people throw it away as rubbish!

        • Frederick

          Exactly Silver is irreplaceable and on sale at the moment

  26. Press Play

    I really don’t care who collects PMs and who doesn’t, but I do care about false analysis of its value.

    Border guards and chickens are cute but somewhat lacking analysises of Pms uselessness.

    When it comes down to it you either believe in this debt-based wealth and its continuance–which Karl apparently does–or else you have the foresight to understand that it is a house of cards that will blow away one day very soon. If you understand the latter, then where else does one store his wealth? IN REAL THINGS, like PMs.

    Commerce will continue after the big sweep. PMs are not for the immediate collapse, to buy chickens or bribe border guards; they are for the financial reconstruction when the dust settles.

    • Faith

      Amen. Those are my sentiments as well. Spot on comment!

  27. Hank

    I like Karl, his philosophy on the medical industry is spot on.

    Like he says, just don’t participate in the (US) medical industry. I’ve had surgery over seas for about a tenth of the US price….and that’s after that (foreign) hospital marked my hospital visit way UP because they knew I wouldn’t complain. Anecdotally, lately I’ve interviewed numerous high school and college kids for part-time work and the majority are pursuing various medical professions….a sign to me that the medical industry is on shaky legs (every kid thinks he will get rich doing almost anything medical related).

    Karl is missing the boat on PMs.
    During EVERY previous Depression, those who had possession of Gold & Silver ALWAYs came through it OK. That economic law is not changing anytime soon, no matter what computer Nerds believe. You can’t eat greenbacks or stocks. Paper investments, as he experienced in 2000 and 2008, will have much less value (globally) unlike Gold & Silver which ALWAYS explode upward in trying economic times.

  28. Brad Skiles

    Good interview Greg. You’re the best. Karl is smart … but not all-knowing.

    His answer: “Who’s moving away from the dollar? … Dollar is being moved away from? Says who? All the crazies out there trying to see you gold?”

    Karl is married to fiat money. (Thanks for bringing the interview back to that!)

    If Karl absolutely knew the dollar would be worthless, he would have a lot of gold. He might want to consider monetary history and current international news.

    “Who’s moving away from the dollar?” China, Japan, Russia and Saudi Arabia. “Who’s buying these dollar investments?” The Federal Reserve and the US Treasury. “How do you protect the bond market?” You destroy the value of the dollar.

    I appreciate the diversity of views on your channel … but doesn’t mean every view is right. Thanks for a good interview.

  29. Uma

    …. Obamacare bla bla bla .. not interesting enuf

  30. francis m reps

    Mr. Denninger’s focus on the financial markets ; as well as the health care system are correct as far as he goes. The only fly in his ointment is his apparent ignorance { or lack of focus } on the unit of exchange { money }. Our worldwide ” Parker Bros ” currency universe makes everything he talks about just a silly exercise. Think about this ; The entire world is awash in fake money being used as the medium of exchange and store of value. Producers and workers now earn worthless chits { unless they exchange them almost immediately for some goods } . Mr Denninger disparages real money { the universal medium of exchange for centuries} because of what ?? Academic exercises such as Mr. Denninger’s are fun to listen to…..but I ; for one , would rather avoid all the financial markets and build a chicken coop as well as sock away was many pre 1964 silver coins as possible.

  31. Roger D

    Obamacare? But didn’t We The People vote to repeal that?

    Look for more wars.

  32. Doug

    Denninger doesn’t believe in real money then. He obviously believes in the US Dollar that can be printed from nothing.
    The thing he seemed to miss is that Gold is an insurance AND a possible way of increasing your wealth. Gold is not for the apocalypse scenario it is for the ability to reinstate yourself financially AFTER an economic reset.

  33. Country Codger

    Hi Greg,
    Great interview. Karl has the gift of laying things out so just about anyone can understand the problem and therefore see a possible solution.
    Keep up the great work.
    Shalom,
    CC

  34. andyb

    Greg: excellent analysis by Karl. One point, however, that he did not make re Obamacare is that once you grant an entitlement, there is little chance of reversing it. Imagine that the “victimhood” (so insidiously rampant today) would rise to unprecedented levels among the social justice warriors and there would be riots. The only way to solve Obamacare is to eliminate all the useless provisions, place the Pre-existers in a separate pool, achieve some sort of tort reform and limit Big Pharma profits to a percentage of sales.

  35. Mike T

    Would have liked you to have asked him there at the end “What’s it look like to the man on the street, if it does blow up?” His views on gold and chickens would might be framed in a bit more context.

  36. samsungtv

    For example, as a man I, can never need maternity. . . . If you have these things that I have to pay for in my coverage, but the probability is zero of using it, then what you have done is stolen the money from me and given it to somebody else. .

    I’ll make you a deal. Men don’t have to pay for women’s maternity care and mammograms as long as we don’t have to pay for men’s prostate screenings, prostate cancer treatment, testosterone supplements, or Viagra. That way, you won’t get to steal OUR money, either. OK?

  37. al

    Thank you Greg for reminding me why I click “skip” when I see Carl’s mug on my screen. I see his face a few times a month here and there and I always skip his diatribe. You just reminded me why I do that.

  38. Lake M

    Regarding Mr. Denninger’s comment on gold…

    Not sure how one can totally disregard gold’s 5000 year history as real money and a store of value and offering protection from a decline in the value of fiat currency.
    A real time example for an economic collapse is that of Venezuela. A news item today told of the thousands of upper class citizens that have fled to Spain, taking up residence in Madrid. Those with savings have fled to Panama and Columbia. Those who had gold or cash dollars were protected from the massive devaluation of the Colone and were able to flee from the violence and social chaos. Those who had chickens are trapped in the cesspool that is present day Venezuela. You can keep your chickens, Mr. Denninger, I’ll opt to pay the border guard with coin and flee. The sun must be shining somewhere.

  39. Stan the Man with the SHTF Plan

    I was just thinking we needed to hear from Karl again and real soon. Thanks, Greg.
    If only our congressmen would pay even a little attention to what he has to say.

  40. Sam Hill

    Indeed the human body is hard-wired for health. If you eat healthy “live” foods, get some exercise every day, cut back on personal stress, stop paying taxes to the IRS, etc. your health will flourish.

    • Diane

      I second that Sam Hill!

    • Deanna Johnston Clark

      In jail? The only honest way to stop paying taxes is to give your money away and live on 24,000 a year or less. The way to do that is to have no debts. So first, pay off your house.

      • Frederick

        Or move out of the states but getting rid of debt is a very good idea for sure

        • Deanna Johnston Clark

          Aw, c’mon, Fred…it’s our home!! You’d miss us!

    • This sceptred Isle

      “Indeed the human body is hard-wired for health. If you eat healthy “live” foods, get some exercise every day, cut back on personal stress, stop paying taxes to the IRS, etc. your health will flourish.”

      In fact disease is dis-ease, tightness and constriction in the body which prevents the free flow of energy. However, sometimes the blocks are so entrenched you need to do something like yoga or acupuncture.

  41. Linda L.

    My CPA dropped his regular health insurance plan because his monthly premiums were off the chart expensive with a very high deductible here in AZ. He now has a couple of plans that covers cancer and catastrophic events with a high deductible, but his monthly premiums are much less. When a healthy person has to pay 1200.00 plus per month for regular health insurance, just having catastrophic coverage seems to make more sense. However, the Feds need to stop the tax fines (2.5 percent of gross household income) for not carrying their proposed components of Obama healthcare. Is this rip off tax going to stop under Trump?

    • Wayne

      I’ve seen premium numbers like this before. It never fails to shock me. Premiums of $14,400 are about ONE-FOURTH of a gross median household annual income of $56,516. Net income, what one has to work with, drives the percentage even higher. A rhetorical question, but how can a household afford all other basic necessities given such a tax (at the point of a gun)?

      Implementing this instrument of insanity by the Obomination Administration could have had only one purpose: to destroy the American middle class. That’s quite a “legacy.”

      Mr. Denninger cited the Surgery Center of Oklahoma as one example of a free market institution (see https://surgerycenterok.com/). I’d never heard of it until I read about it in one of his Market-Ticker posts. Its prices (believe it or not, “know before you go”) are astonishing. Apparently, only about 15-20% of mainstream institutions.

      There are not many such practices that I saw references for in the Free Market Medical Association of which it is a member (see https://fmma.org/providers/facilities/). Just a handful of other states. I do not have any personal knowledge of or experience with them. But maybe this trend will keep growing. Clearly, this is a break with healthcare-medical pricing collusion. That’s probably why I hadn’t heard of it before.

  42. Mike from the North

    Very good interview. I may not agree with him in relation to what one should hold as far as real money but on most of his points I am in agreement.

    On a much greater matter of importance.
    The future of the USA if not the World is in Peril.

    The globalists have created a situation to where some might say the USA has lost the ability to govern itself.

    The challenge facing the USA is enormous and it can only succeed in making America great again if the people wake up an take notice of how desperate the situation is right now.

    MS media continues to do everything within it’s power to undermine President Trump.

    Possibly the only solution is for the people to stand up and SAY NO to the powers to be.

    Stand up and get behind your President he is all you have.

    HE is your PRESIDENT and he cannot turn this tide without your support.

    If he fails we all fail. When I say WE, I mean all us God Fearing people who believe in the RULE OF LAW.

    Use your Constitution to take back your Nation.

    I am a Canadian neighbour who believes that America can be GREAT AGAIN.

    • susan

      Mike, you are so right. We must continue to pray for and do everything we can to help President Trump guide our country.

      • Greg Hunter

        Susan and Mike,
        Never give up. God the Father put Trump in the White House and he will not be removed. “Fear Not.”
        Greg

        • Mohammad

          Absolutely Greg,
          So far 3 wars at the helm and more to come.
          You love wars don’t you.

          Mohammad

          • Deanna Johnston Clark

            Nobody sane here wants war.

  43. Wayne

    Mr. Denninger’s analysis of runaway healthcare costs (as he notes, all lumped together under the misnomer of “insurance”) is just one nasty example of the set of dire realities we now face. They all unfortunately thrive because of the same underlying factor, which is a point he had previously emphasized. This is the same conclusion many of us have come to, that the rule of law no longer exists in this country.

    Certainly not as applied to its governance. At the highest levels, no one is indicted for nor goes to jail for collusion in healthcare pricing, money laundering-bank-mortgage fraud, violations of Constitutional amendments, treason in selling state secrets to foreign entities, illegal surveillance, ad nauseum. (Yes, small-fry Bernie Madoff was made the exception to “prove” this rule.)

    But imagine healthcare costs reduced from 19% of GDP to 3% should the rule of law be enforced (and economic collapse somehow averted). GDP sadly enough includes government spending and as John Williams of Shadowstats has shown us, inflation is about 23% (not under 5%). In real terms, GDP “growth” is barely above zero percent and more likely negative for many consecutive quarters now. In short, we never left the recession that started in 2009 and it’s now deepened into a depression.

    As with the Fed/Central Bank Ponzi scheme, these government-corporate interventions (i.e., fascism), these contrived deviations outside of any constraints cannot go on indefinitely. With healthcare continually adding to uncontrolled budget deficits and national debts, it may well be the 4-5 year hard stop before it all implodes, as Denninger speculates.

    He stated that people are not moving away from the USD. There is evidence that the world is doing so. The Chinese lobbied the IMF to include the Yuan in the SDR basket of currencies. But they are also working outside this existing system by implementing CIPS as an alternative to SWIFT. Many countries are joining this effort, where all trade will be conducted outside of the USD. While in its infancy, this is not trivial, especially coupled with the Petro-Dollar losing its grip (some say in its demise).

    Furthermore, USD “strength” comes not from a strong US economy but instead from competitive currency devaluation while the USD is still privileged as global fiat reserve currency, from liquidation of US Treasuries by foreign nations before their repatriation back to the US has impact, and from artificial boosting by the PPT-Fed-ESB et al. (just as they goose the DJIA, oil price, etc, but also smash precious metal prices).

    Bigger picture, in the end, what can the individual do? I have long thought about this and come to much the same conclusion as Mr. Denninger suggests and Jim Sinclair-Bill Holter have independently advocated. Get your own house in order. Prepare as best you can for some possible, perhaps likely, (very) ugly circumstances. If this is done collectively and a grass-roots sense of community might be achieved, perhaps we can have a softer landing.

    • Frederick

      Wayne If the rule of law existed in the states then a lot of people would be in jail for the horrendous treason of 911 But alas they are all walking free Go figure Big club right?

      • Wayne

        Exactly. But why stop there? Go back to “Remember the Maine,” Hussein’s “weapons of mass destruction,” the Gulf of Tonkin incident, etc. False flags have probably existed since the beginnings of governments, even at the tribal level.

        To modify George Carlin in this regard, no, it ain’t a big club. It’s a very, very small club. But again, you (and I) ain’t in it.

        • Deanna Johnston Clark

          No, No…not big in quantity…QUALITY. Only the choicest!!

    • Wayne

      When referring to the forecasted Shadowstats versus government numbers of 23 and 5 in my comment above, I meant to say “unemployment,” not “inflation.” But as anyone who runs a household knows, actual inflation versus the government-Fed number of less than 2% is very likely close to this 23:5 ratio. Just ask Social Security recipients how happy they were to receive a COLA barely above zero percent.

      Also, the typo “ESB” referred to the Exchange Stabilization Fund (although I wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere there was an Exchange Stabilization Bank, too ;-D ).

      I agree with the consensus of other commentators that precious metals as actual bullion/coins are indeed valuable to own/have personal access to, outside of the banking system. This is true “insurance” to guard against catastrophe. For bartering, silver coins or rounds may be a better way to go. If the internet is not running, cryptocurrency transactions cannot be made. Perhaps arguments for bitcoin et al. use under these and other circumstances could be the topic for one of Greg’s newest interviews?

  44. RE

    God Bless you for this interview….The truth, out in the open, the medical complex in handcuffs, we have the power, we need to use it. What if you have a medical bill, you dont use your insurance, you pay cash, when they call you for payment CALL THEM ON IT….Tell them about the law (which they already know), ask where are the published prices? Tell them you will pay the going rate of ……..and they will take it. I have done it, it works, and I am about to do it again. WAKE UP AND USE THE LAWS OF THIS COUNTRY….Stop being wimps, stand up for once in your life and make true change happen. Stop waiting for Trump, Greg Hunter just gave all of you along with Karl the keys to the kingdom….GOD BLESS KARL AND GREG.

  45. Terry

    I love Karl’s work, but don’t really understand his position on PM’s. So he made a lot of money selling his business. Where is it? What is he invested in? He stated he doesn’t buy and hold equities. Can’t imagine him holding bonds. 1/4% CD? Doubtful.

    So he must have stacks of $100 bills buried somewhere. That’s better than PM’s? I don’t get it.

  46. john duffy

    So Karl doesn’t have much use for PMs. Tell that to the Venezuelans. Apparantly you can buy 6 months supply of food for 1 oz of silver. I know I’m not as smart as these pundits, but as long as i have been listening to them, they have been wrong more often than they have been right.

  47. Linda L.

    What borders are folks talking about fleeing across? Canada isn’t and won’t be in such great shape and Mexico isn’t going to take Americans in a mass, national state of emergency. There would be the level of chaos where most wouldn’t make it to the border with their gold, staples, chickens etc. etc, unless they found some compromised or more remote area for crossing into their country of choice. Reminds me of the movie “The Day After Tomorrow” where hysterical Americans are desperately trying to make a mad dash across Mexico’s closing borders. Better find a place to bug out here unless one has their own private plane or helicopter:
    https://youtu.be/yyD_67t7mI0

  48. Jerry G

    Carl is correct and on point about healthcare. To bad he is a Keynesian and thinks king dollar has no flaws and I suppose he thinks the hundreds of paper gold/silver contracts traded daily on the Comex to a physical oz. is a fair and equitable market.

    I bet not many gold/silver holders don’t have a food storage and/or chickens of some type to aid them in transferring that wealth to the new paradigm.

  49. Cliven Steele

    Idiom: To leave no stone unturned

    Question
    What does the idiom “to leave no stone unturned” mean?
    Answer

    “To leave no stone unturned” is an idiom that means to do everything possible to find something or to solve a problem. It is often used to praise someone’s careful work, as in:

    The researcher left no stone unturned in her search for the original documents.

    or to promise a thorough search, as in:

    Jake’s lawyer promised that he would leave no stone unturned in trying to find more evidence to help Jake’s case.

    Jesus Predicted It 37 years Before It Happened
    The catastrophic fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 forever changed the face of Judaism—and the fate of Christians in the Holy Land/Mid-East
    “Jesus predicted it 37 years before it happened.” He also warned His followers to flee before the city was sealed off. Those that did survived.
    “15 Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation [future], such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” (Matthew 24)

    http://www.preteristarchive.com/Bibliography/2008_maier_not-one-stone.html

    http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1998492/posts

  50. Cliven Steele

    1 ounce of silver buys 3-6 months of food | 2 ounce of gold buys a house
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmGWK4Yt8ac&spfreload=10

  51. J. Bethune

    Obama’s rule changes opened door for NSA intercepts of Americans to reach political hands
    before he left office.
    Why wiretap/survale Trump campaign? No one would ever know! Hillary was going to be President, remember! No risk at being discovered. Wrong!
    The NSA is expected to turn over logs as early as this week to congressional committees detailing who consumed reports with unmasked Americans’ identities from their intercepts since the summer of 2016.
    To intelligence professionals, the public revelations affirm an undeniable reality.
    Obama’s War Against The American Sheeple!
    Pete Hoekstra Verified account @petehoekstra
    Former Chairman House Intelligence Committee. Frequent writer and commentator on intelligence issues and the threat from radical Islam. READ IT, SEE IT And Weep. You’ve bean found out;
    https://twitter.com/petehoekstra?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

  52. John Davis

    Greg,

    In regards to Gold – better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Gold is insurance. Back in the day a balanced portfolio had exposure to physical metals. Gold does not yield anything and therefore is the safest asset class to own. If all major assets are manipulated upwards such as real estate, stocks and bonds then I want exposure to the one physical asset that is manipulated downwards the most and has a history of being money for a few thousand years – that would be gold.
    Next, in regards to the costs of medicine. You are going to have to look at this from multiple angles and over a longer course of time than most people want to acknowledge. First, the administration in medicine from the small community hospital to the largest institutions is out of control. Furthermore, EMR has reduced work flow and has created IT expenses that are huge. Second, we are going to have to change how we educate physicians and the support staff around them. There is a movement towards degree inflation in all the major support positions for physicians. This is costing vast sums of money and the future health care providers are going to want compensation for this investment. IMHO – we need to change the old standard of a 4 year undergraduate degree then off to medical school for 4 years followed by internship and residency. We need to fast track students who want to be physicians in their second year of undergraduate studies and create a path to a MD in 5 years. This will lower the educational costs. I know several physicians who are $300,000 to $4000,000 in debt with student loans – they are going to want good salaries when they start to practice. Third, there is a fair amount of pharmaceutical company bashing in the news and I worked for big pharma for 10 years and I can tell you that if you knew how hard the discovery process was for bringing novel compounds to market it would shock you. Research how long it takes a medication to get through the approval process – years! However, your patent expiration date starts when you create the compound and not when you start selling it. They should increase the patent life in exchange for price controls. When I was in pharmaceuticals for every one compound that made it to market there were several hundred that did not for which the company had to absorb the costs for that research Hence, we have seen massive consolidation in the industry to make the discovery process more efficient – but it is still a risky venture and these companies are owned by shareholders who want/demand a ROI! I practice medicine and I could not do my job without the pharmaceutical industry. Fourth, we need reform in regards to the legal system – i.e unwarranted lawsuits and a myriad of other issues in this arena. Fifth – I wish we would either go to a pure single payer system (healthier outcomes at less expense) or migrate to catastrophic health insurance where the patient assumes the minor expenses of their health care – i.e well visits and physicals. This would guard against financial ruin for the patient but also regulate prices as the patient would be charged for the service and not an insurance company. We need both Democrats and Republicans to come together on this issue and provide an outline on how to get there over the course of several administrations and stop trying to solve this issue in a four year term- not going to happen as it is way too complex.

    • Tin foil hat

      John Davis,
      How about a 3 tiers single payer system (with separate and independent budget) plus private health insurance?
      The top tier covers only emergencies like heart attack, stroke, trauma (car accident) and any medical condition which is not self induced by the patient – flexible, buffet style budget with federal funding only.
      The second tier covers well visits, physicals and ordinary illness through no fault of their own – fixed state funded budget with adjustable federal subsidy.
      The lower tier covers medical conditions cause by the patient’s own reckless behavior or lifestyle (cigarette, alcohol, narcotic, unprotected sex ….) – fixed state funded budget with no federal assistance.
      Anybody who doesn’t want to be bother with the second and third tier coverage can buy their own private insurance.

    • Joe in Cebu

      Hi Greg. I appreciate your honest and well thought out comments. Your first point about medical is that the industry is out of control. That is by design. The solution in America is to drag more money toward the problem. A simple law requiring that all prices be posted would do wonders. A second to deny different prices for different customers would eliminate discrimination (But they want the rich to pay more)! Requiring participation in insurance is another. The truth is market based solutions ration medical care according to wealth. I see that you suggest a pure single payer system. I noticed that you practice medicine. So you do not imagine a market based solutions to be fair to our population regardless of the wealth available to them for trade? My observation is that this idea of a utopia where some third party makes the payments in our economy is how we got into this mess. I live in a third world, yes health care is rationed by the ability to pay, but at least I am the customer here paying for my benefits.

      • Tin foil hat

        Joe in Cebu,
        “health care is rationed by the ability to pay”
        I don’t think that is the system Americans are looking for. I believe most Americans don’t mind paying more to help the poor who can’t afford healthcare. We are just sick and tired of the ones who abused the system with no concerns of personal responsibility.

  53. John M.

    There is an obvious maxim: Everything works, until it doesn’t.
    My big problem is that besides my faith in God, there’s nothing I trust or believe in as I get older.
    I’m not sure if it’s wisdom or I’m just turning into an old fuddy-duddy with a dash of dementia, but everything seems to be just another RACKET.
    Healthcare is an obvious racket, as well as college costs and monopolistic public education that indoctrinates young children. Environmental regulations on small businesses is my pet peeve racket, as I’m constantly bombarded with new paperwork and every bullshit fee you can think of on my California farm of 30 years when I started. (My father who started our family farm would not put up with this crap.)
    The mainstream news is all fake and a really rotten racket. Democrats and Establishment Republicans are a political, fascist racket of liars and cheats. Bonds, stocks, financial markets, are all manipulated, just Ponzi scheme rackets that masquerade as free-market depositories of capital. Big banks are criminal racket organizations that are like vampire squids that can suck blood and money from a turnip. America’s military adventures are rackets that come at the expense of American young blood, and add more layers of debt to a nation that is saturated in debt. Most especially, the paper gold and silver markets are a racket of critical importance, to fool the public that our financial system is doing just fine — just keep on taking your anti-depressants and watching CNBC. (In a normal and rational world–gold is the proverbial canary in the financial coal mine.)
    In my mind, the biggest racket of all is our US Dollar, and we will have to just wait and see what the repercussions are from a world reserve currency that depreciates rapidly in real purchasing power. The dollar is the atom or the necessary foundation on which our entire American economy functions.
    My spidey senses are tingling wildly with each passing week.
    Wonder what happens when things stop WORKING?
    Like when food no longer gets distributed to supermarkets. Like when fuel does not get delivered to gas stations.
    I think it will be an epic event, on par with WWII or the hyperinflation happening now in Venezuela.
    However, I do luv my new tennis racket. It hits the ball hard and true, with just a little spin!

    • Tin foil hat

      John M,
      “I’m not sure if it’s wisdom or I’m just turning into an old fuddy-duddy with a dash of dementia.”
      I have been saying exactly that for at least a year now, lol.

      • Charles H

        I’ll join that ‘old fuddy duddy’ club.

    • Deanna Johnston Clark

      No, you ain’t going fuzzy headed. You’re right…now listen:
      I love John Wesley’s journal. Today I read of 1200 French prisoners freezing and starving in a British camp. John saw them first hand and preached that day on the verse about strangers….how the Jews knew how it felt and should love the stranger. Before the day was out money started coming, then more and more…food, blankets, even new clothes made just for the prisoners. In a few weeks, the men had everything life required and were doing well.
      This was before the ‘grid’ and smartphones and computers. The real collapse will not be their loss. It would be when the American people stop responding to God’s voice of brotherly love and mercy. Preachers have sold out, of course….they are another of the rackets John forgot to mention.
      So I read John Wesley….

  54. J W

    Greg, You just interviewed the one man in all the land that could salvage the Trump presidency in terms of fixing the healthcare disaster. If president Trump would hire Karl to be the head honcho to clean house in the healthcare department we would have hope. Because if The only hope we have is this pathetic despicable Congress, and a hog tied president…..we’re screwed.

    • RealityCheck

      Someone with common sense and ability in a high government position? Never going to happen!

      • Greg Hunter

        It just happened in Trump. Why do you think he’s being attacked by so many groups?
        Greg

        • Robert G

          Greg… Michael Flynn has just said he would testify for immunity. I believe the white house is involved in a giant cover up. The media is digging up credible stuff. I hate to say this Greg but IMHO you have been conned by the Don.

          • Greg Hunter

            Robert G.
            “The media is digging up credible stuff.” Name one thing that shows a crime was committed. Flynn has been cleared by the FBI already: http://nypost.com/2017/01/24/fbi-clears-michael-flynn-in-probe-linking-him-to-russia/ One thing on Trump that proves a crime was committed.
            Greg

            • Robert G

              Greg, I never said that a crime had been committed, that will be established in time by committees and good reporting. Because of hard work by reporters and the press more and more evidence is being collected. Your link was from Jan 24. Since then it’s been reported that Flynn did not inform the admin. that he was a foreign agent for turkey and paid $500,000 while becoming part of Trumps cabinet. He also was working for the Russians being paid 68 grand for that in 2015, while sanctions were in place no less. Also there sitting next to a killer and giving a speech on how great RT television (propaganda outlet for the Kremlin) was doing. I don’t think the FBI is done with him yet. Why would he want immunity if he wasn’t guilty of something. “”Former national security adviser Michael Flynn has reportedly told the FBI and investigators looking into President Donald Trump’s alleged campaign ties to Russia that he would submit himself to be interviewed in exchange for immunity, according to officials cited by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.”” That was this last Thursday. (sorry forgot to save link) Remember when he hypocritically said about Clinton’s aids, immunity status “” when Mike Flynn was on Meet The Press last September and said “When you are given immunity, that means you have probably committed a crime”””If reporters and the media hadn’t brought this up he would still be in the Cabinet. It took 3 weeks and even then Pense didn’t know about it till the Washington post reported it. https://www.axios.com/pence-had-to-read-the-washington-post-to-find-out-he-was-misled-2261933631.html Why wasn’t he properly vetted? I could go on and on but remember Watergate took 2 years so this will take time. Every single day there’s a news flash. It’s crazy.

  55. D. Martin

    The moment he referred to people who believe in gold or sell gold as “crazy” , I stopped listening to the interview. I am as “crazy” as he is pompous!

  56. Jason Hodel

    excellent interview – nice to hear an opposing view point against gold and precious metals

  57. Mohammad

    Greg,

    I made multiple requests different times to have Dr Joseph P. Farrell on.
    Is there any reason why not?
    Is it your side or his or mutual?
    Dr. Farrell has a very interesting perspective that am sure your audience will benefit from.
    He featured on CAF many times so at least from her perspective he is knowledgable enough to host him and benefit her audience.
    I wish you reconsider.

    Mohammad

    • Deanna Johnston Clark

      Hear! Hear!

  58. Chris Foster

    If i could just give Mr. Denninger a small piece of advice, it would be, just buy Gold Coins. Crazy Chris.

    • Tin foil hat

      I’d give Mr. Denninger another small piece of advice. Buy American Eagle or Krugerrand only to avoid counterfeit, it’s almost impossible to pass both the Fisch and ring test – Maple Leaf doesn’t make the distinct ringing sound like Krugerrand or American Eagle.
      https://www.thefisch.com

      • Charles H

        The American Eagle is alloyed to increase durability – and is around 22kt. This may explain the ring. Maple Leafs should be ‘four nine’s’ (24kt) pure; therefore softer and duller in sound.

  59. Scot

    Think globally. Stocks are up and will continue to rise due to global flows from more troubled regions, not QE or buybacks. When even the brain dead people realize the govt is in trouble and their confidence flees faster than a tax payer in IL, then tangible assets like stocks and PMs will soar. Where else can capital go – govt bonds?

    The mistake too many are making is not realizing we are transitioning from public to private, when stocks are the safe haven. When the govt bubble pops, the stock market is the only market big enough to absorb the flows. One note of caution, hold in your name, not street name. If you are caught with large pcs of gold that are not collectibles, you will be charged with money laundering and your gold confiscated. Remember, govt becomes increasingly despereste in bankruptcy.

    • Tin foil hat

      Scot,
      “One note of caution, hold in your name, not street name. If you are caught with large pcs of gold that are not collectibles, you will be charged with money laundering and your gold confiscated.”

      I suspect Mr.T and many like him will not give up their gold chains around their necks without breaking a lot of stuffs first.

      Btw, stocks are not tangible assets. You should research the Exter inverted pyramid to get a better sense of what is safe haven. Stock is no where near the bottom.

  60. Solomon

    Karl’s argument against gold is an informal logical fallacy, the straw man argument. The end of the world as we know it is the low probability event. In that case, Karl has some good points. Otherwise, intentionally or not, he leaves out the key reasons to hold and accumulate precious metals. We should primarily concern ourselves with our preparations for high probability events. Gold (and silver) is in a bull market because monetary debauchery is in a bull market. The U.S. stock market, western housing and bond markets, etc… reflect the latter. So too does the worldwide rise in populism.

  61. Flattop

    GREG: Thinking about Congress and recent hearing, and those who have taken an oath to tell the truth.
    James Clapper lied
    Eric Holder lied
    Hillery Clinton lied
    James Comey lied
    Lois Lerner lied
    All these people, and others, having lied, have experienced NO repercussion for their actions. Why is that???

    • Greg Hunter

      Flattop,
      And might I add the dying mainstream media lied and continues to lie and propel a false narrative. There will be repercussions in this world or the next.
      Greg

      • Diane

        Especially the MSM!
        It’s terrible.

      • Deanna Johnston Clark

        I don’t want to imagine how cynical they must be…may the Lord touch their hearts somehow.

        • Greg Hunter

          DJC,
          Hope so.
          Greg

    • Frederick

      Flattop it’s very simple why they are not charged They are in the “big club”

  62. Phil

    Both global warming and radiation pollution have “long gone” for present
    living arrangements written all over them. Yet, Karl never mentions them.

    Temps and radiation are the bottom line. All else is politics for front row
    seats at The Last Picture Show.

  63. Walter Baumgarten

    Mr. Denninger does a superlative job of explaining the failures in what is called the American “Health Care” System. The cheapest way to purchase ANYTHING is simply to write the check, even the Common American Idiot could not argue that fact! And the comparison he makes with medical treatment in foreign countries verses the surgical hospital he names verses the pay any price after the work is done was an excellent example that I hope at least a few people took note of. The problem with the Common American Idiot is that they have been bamboozled into the buy now/pay later/infinite credit sales spiel that has allowed any snake oil salesman selling anything at all to connive them into stupidity. I do not believe that they will ever recover the ability to think for themselves and this is what the profiteers are counting on. In our Easy Way Society, fear is a great motivator to take advantage of the chronically stupid. I have actually heard a radio commercial recently that came out and claimed that “people will pay any price for one more minute of life, for one more day, for one more week” in their attempt to solicit surgical services from cancer patients. The system is broken, it is corrupt, it is FOR profit and there are far too many greedy bastards on the wagon for the wheels to not fall off somewhere soon. Great work once again, thank you.

  64. Flahooley

    If there’s really nothing to this Russia interference issue, then why are members of the Trump Administration acting as guilty as s***? That’s the question I always go back to.

  65. Mr Mister

    I think a lot of people in precious metals industry have missed a key point, gold and silver are rising because purchase power is declining. 1849, gold was $20 per ounce. Today, an ounce of gold is $1,242.65. Don’t worry about hyper inflation, concentrate on wealth accumulation. Easiest ways to accumulate wealth is to be hard assets, precious metals, real estate, collectable toys, collectable cars and so on. It’s the year 1849, here is your choice, a million dollars in gold, or million dollars in cash?

  66. Ulrich Sherry

    Interesting to hear Mr Denninger’s take on precious metals. Not often you hear a contrarian argument. Refreshing. However….when things go wrong, what tangible assets will be accepted for payment for chickens..Won’t be share certificates. Hold on, they don’t have them any more do they? I’ll give you 3 electronic blips for those eggs….

  67. tagio

    Karl ignores many reasons for owning gold that do not involve an end of the world, fleeing the country scenario, including loss of all your “money” in bank accounts by reason of bank failures or bail-ins. There are many people in Cyprus, I bet, who wish they saved their retirement nest egg in gold, not IOUs from banks. Bottom line, there are many ways to hedge against life’s risks, gold is one of them> Nothing solves all problems or works in all scenarios.

  68. Prepped

    So, if I am correct in drawing from this interview what there is to be drawn, we should own NO precious metals of any sort.

    This kills much of the respect I once may have had for Denninger’s opinions. What a disservice he is doing to those who might listen to his view on precious metals, especially at this critical juncture.

    There will never be any problem with adding more debt in the last decade than was added in the entire previous existence of the United States?

    The dollar will never be affected even though there are many historic examples of how debasement of fiat currency via creating vast quantities of it always ends badly?

    We should just trust your assessment of King Dollar, even though the soulless thugs and assorted money junkies who run the Federal Reserve have already DEVALUED said dollar over 98% since they seized power in 1913?

    Sorry, Karl, I will continue stacking gold and silver just as I have done over the past thirty-five years. I have zero faith in your pessimistic estimate of how owning an asset that has a millennia-long history of intrinsic value is misguided.

    I can put my hands on my wealth, 95% of it is extremely well hidden and I accumulated a large portion of it when the metals were a quarter or less of their current prices. You are quite welcome to your paper assets, Karl.

    In case anyone missed it, Denninger referred to the “crazies” who want to sell you gold. By obvious logical extension, he believes you are also one of the “crazies” if you own gold or silver.

    By the way, Karl, where do you think you (or anyone) are going to run? Where in the world would you think you would have safe haven from the demonstrably global nature of that which is now upon our doorstep? I will make my stand right here in the good old U. S. of A., come hell or high water. There is no place to run.

    Good night, Karl. I must go and secure more of my barbaric relic. I am tuning you out for good…..

  69. Paul

    The question I would have for Mr. Denninger is why not have chickens as well as gold. Then you have eggs and golden eggs?

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