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What single earth-shattering event is the most likely to kill world trade … crush the global economy … and crash financial markets?
Another oil price shock?
A breakup of the eurozone?
A major terrorist attack?
According to Intelligence Unit of the London-based Economist, the answer is none of the above.
Instead, it’s precisely the scenario I depicted here last week — a hard landing in China.
My thesis: High-growth countries almost always behave like high-flying stocks. When things turn sour, they don’t just slow down. They crash. And China is the prime example.
My data: A raft of case studies, present and past, of nations that experienced cataclysmic contractions immediately after periods of rapid GDP growth: Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine … Peru and Chile … the UAE and Iran … Bahamas … the United States in the 1930s … and many more.
The reason: By definition, accelerated growth is sponsored by overzealous governments … stimulated by excessive debt … and downright dangerous.
It concentrates wealth, corrupts political power and corrodes any semblance of social balance.
It inevitably comes with great speculative bubbles. And it can only end one way: With great panic busts.
But rather than bury you in more history and data, let me share some of the things that I’ve experienced personally … that have taught me valuable lessons … and that have convinced me, without a doubt, a soft landing in China is impossible.
Cuba, Late 1940s
My family spent a lot of time vacationing on the Isle of Pines, about 175 miles southwest of Havana.
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| While we were leaving Cuba for the last time on this Pan Am flight, GDP was plunging rapidly. |
A few years later, Fidel Castro led a failed attack against the government of Fulgencio Batista and was thrown into the Presidio Modelo prison a few miles from where we stayed. His younger brother Raul, Cuba’s current president, was his cell mate.
Years later, just a couple of months after the Cuban Revolution, my father and uncle revisited the island one last time. Castro had just renamed it Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth). And ironically, he was using the same Presidio Modelo prison to torture his own enemies.
In the interim, Cuba’s economy was rapidly shifting from super boom to super bust. And to this day, over a half century later, it has yet to recover.
Central Brazil, Early 1950s
By this time, we had realized Cuba was not exactly a good winter home anymore. So instead, we decided to set up our second home 3,500 miles to the southeast — on a ranch in central Brazil.
I remember one day especially well. We hopped into our Rural Willys Jeep and drove a half day to visit a unique plateau to the north.
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| In the early 1950s, when we took these photos in central Brazil, the roads were often impassable (top), and the future site of the new capital was a deserted plateau (bottom). Its construction spurred rapid growth, but also hyperinflation and a series of boom-bust cycles. |
But I was disappointed. There was nothing there … except perhaps for a hastily erected sign in the ground. Translated literally and including a spelling error, it read: “FUTURE ‘CITE’ OF BRASÃLIA”.
Years later, it would be the largest construction site in the world — for the new spectacular, super-modern capital of the world’s fourth-largest nation.
But the birth of BrasÃlia also set off a chain reaction of events that periodically destroyed Brazil’s economy:
Huge deficit spending to build the new capital …
Unbridled money printing to finance it and wild hyperinflation …
Eight new currencies and mass devaluations …
A traumatic military coup in 1964 and 20 years of state oppression and murder with impunity …
Then a short golden era of strong growth with stability …
And now the worst depression in nearly a century.
I saw this personally. My own childhood friends were among the victims; their families’ lives, destroyed.
China Today: Flashbacks
Today, what I see and hear every day in China brings back eerie flashbacks of my childhood experiences.
I see the similarities particularly clearly because I also know China personally:
Not long ago, to improve my fluency in the language, I stayed with my favorite host family in Qinhuangdao, the summer home of China’s government. I’ve traveled to Shanghai several times to speak at economic forums. Before that, Elisabeth and I crisscrossed the country visiting centers of Chinese and Western medicine. China was my area of specialty as an undergrad at NYU; Chinese, my first Asian language as a teenager.
And I can tell you flatly: The social, political, and economic upheaval coming to China will make the convulsions of Cuba, Brazil and other major nations look mild by comparison.
Again, though, rather than a bunch of stats, let me share with you some anecdotal experiences that can give you even better insights:
Toxic Smog
When my online Chinese teacher first invited me to Qinhuangdao, I questioned her about the seemingly high pollution index. “Don’t worry!” she insisted. “We’re four hours away from Beijing.”
True, the pollution in Beijing is worse. And yes, on some days, I could actually see the sky — sort of. But on most days, I could barely breathe.
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| On a recent trip to China, even in a city that was far from the industrial smog of Beijing, I still found it hard to breathe. |
Throughout urban China, toxic smog makes cancer the leading cause of death. Hundreds of millions of people choke in a fog of particulate matter, ozone, sulfur dioxide, mercury and lead, caused mainly by factories and coal burning. The water supply is often contaminated. The food supply, same thing.
Result: A shockingly vocal public outcry … and, after years of denial, a surprisingly sincere government response. But it’s 99% lip service and only 1% action.
Looking ahead, if high officials in Beijing continue to do little or nothing about pollution, that alone could foment the mass revolts they fear so intensely. And if they finally do something substantial, that alone could chop several percentage points off of GDP growth.
Government-Sponsored Crime
Despite a healthy lifestyle, one of my hosts was recently diagnosed with cancer, probably due to four decades of breathing the chemicals I just told you about. So she asked a dear family friend to come stay with her while she underwent chemotherapy.
Travel plans were made, farewell parties held … until one day recently, the friend called, exclaiming in desperation: “I just got notice that the government’s going to tear down my house for a new project. I’ve got to move out. I’m so sorry. I can’t come.”
Rare event? Not by a long shot! It’s just one of millions of forced evictions.
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| Despite the threat of punishment, forced evacuations like these in China often evoke emotional outbursts and protests. |
In fact, when I first went to China many years ago, forced evictions were rarer and mostly in rural areas. That’s where government authorities occasionally worked in collusion with private developers to seize land from villagers with little or no compensation.
Now, however, according to the Financial Times, 40% of local government revenues come from these kinds of land sales. And the Council on Foreign Relations estimates that up to 65% of 180,000 “mass incidents” (rebellions and protests) recorded annually in China stem from grievances over forced evictions.
What’s worse, as Beijing sought all possible means of stimulating growth after the 2008 debt crisis, the Communist Party has pushed even harder for “land re-development” at any cost — roads, factories and residential complexes. So just in the last couple of years, forced evictions have accelerated dramatically and spread to urban areas, such as the big city where my host’s friend is now losing her home.
Yes, China’s President Xi Jinping has made his anti-corruption campaigns the signature feature of his public facade. But not surprisingly, forced evictions are not his focus. Instead, the campaign is mostly about snagging a select list of highly visible senior officials accused of other kinds of graft.
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Beijing Censors in Shanghai
Throughout most of China’s rapid growth years, strict party control of political commentary was the norm. But financial journalists typically got a free pass: As long as they stuck to stock market analysis or econ-speak, they could say and write pretty much whatever they wanted, especially in the financial capital, Shanghai.
As long as the economy and the stock market were strong, that dual system — censorship of the political press and freedom of the financial press — endured. Today, however, with the Shanghai Exchange in the dumps and the economy slowing rapidly, it’s over.
Chinese and foreign journalists who stay bullish can “keep up the good work.” Those who have turned bearish, no matter how right they may be, risk jail sentences or worse.
Government censors from Beijing have moved in.
On the surface, this may sound like a side-show to the big economic news coming out of China today — sinking industrial production, crashing exports, and more.
But it’s not. Investors always prefer the devil they know. They abhor company cover-ups and falsified government data. They run from news vacuums faster than they run from the bad news itself.
And that’s precisely what investors in China are doing right now. As The New York Times reports …
“Over the last year, companies and individuals have moved nearly $1 trillion from China. … The swell of outflows is a destabilizing force in China’s slowing economy, threatening to undermine confidence and hurt a banking system that is struggling to deal with a decade-long lending binge.
“The capital flight is already putting significant pressure on the country’s currency, the renminbi [aka the yuan]. The government is trying to prevent a free fall in the currency by stepping into the markets and tapping its huge cash hoard to shore up the renminbi. But a deep erosion of those reserves may set off further outflows and create turbulence in the markets.
“Some methods are perfectly legal, like investing in real estate elsewhere, buying businesses overseas and paying off debts owed in dollars. Others … are more dubious, and in certain cases, outright illegal. Chinese customs officials caught a woman last year trying to leave the mainland with $250,000 strapped to her chest and thighs and hidden inside her shoes.
“If the government cannot keep citizens from rushing to the financial exits, China’s outlook could darken.”
To me, the outcome is obvious: What may initially look like “just a slowdown” will inevitably turn into a massive crash that breaks the back of an already-fragile global economy.
Don’t let China hit you by surprise. Start preparing right now by raising cash and building a strong hedge portfolio.
Good luck and God bless!
Martin
P.S. There is a rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that is only possible because western governments, the world’s biggest banks and Internet billionaires are all doing their level best to eliminate cash from the global economy … and FORCE all business transactions to be conducted electronically with bank debit cards, Paypal, Google Wallet, Apple Pay, and other electronic payment systems. Click here now for Larry Edelson’s new report on the War on Cash!
Dr. Weiss founded Weiss Research in 1971 and has dedicated his entire career to helping millions of average investors find truly safe havens and investments. He is Chairman of the Weiss Group, which includes Weiss Research and Weiss Ratings, the nation’s leading independent rating agency accepting no fees from rated companies. His last three books have all been New York Times Bestsellers and his most recent title is The Ultimate Money Guide for Bubbles, Busts, Recession and Depression.
{ 55 comments }
Sharp analysis! I fully agree, we are entering a depression that will make the 1929 crash look like “a walk in the park”.
i’ve read the credit bubble in china is 7 times america’s credit bubble of 2007-2008.
Absolutely right. China has been working very hard to dig the tomb for herself. The catastrophe is the biggest than ever.
Martin,
In my opinion, just as the “Chinese Experiment” was a product of the Conservative ascension (and U.S. Labor Destruction) in the 1980’s, now as America and the rest of the Free World turns back towards Progressive Liberalism (as we did from 1932 forward), China will fall back into being a 2nd or 3rd world country as the only reason for China’s success (Industrial Production for the West) goes away….
I believe the success of Barney Sanders and the many millions (and increasing) from individual donors is spelling the end of the control that the 3% has had on America since the destructive Republican Revolution of the 1980’s, much as turn to the Left your Father witnessed from 1932 forward…
In other words, I agree with your prediction of China’s fall but for other reasons. Just as the Chinese citizens want to overthrow the oppression of the Communist Party, they are about to witness the lifting of the oppression from Conservative destruction, by a turn to the Left by the Free People of America as our “Great Awakening” occurs, just as it did because of our Grandparent’s votes from 1932 forward…
Eagle – So everything great that has been done in North America was only due to Progressive Liberalism??? Interesting…not sure what history you were taught… So the current administration that has increased the debt several times over in the past 7 years is a good thing since it was the evil “Reagan & Bush” years that caused him to do it to start reversing the Conservative destruction??? WOW…if only he would have spent all those trillions on shovel ready jobs fixing roads, bridges, and dams instead of bailing out a car company that should have went out of business…but wait those were voters with union jobs…
College U.S. Economic history anywhere….. The deficit began to sky rocket with Reagan….. Didn’t know that? How unusual… :( The Republicans sent millions of Union jobs to China and Mexico and the Far East through their initiatives called GATT and NAFTA… Didn’t know that either? How unusual….. Try searching Google or Wikipedia as opposed to Rush and Glen if you want the truth, aye?… :(
So, let me see if I understand you.
You think Sanders is not part of the Elite? He’s a self-avowed communist which means he’s a promoter of centralized economies, socialism and deficit budgets (debt). Both are major causes of the mess in the world right now.
And, you think conservatives are running the economy in China? What are you smoking? Conservatives believe in free-market economies; the Chinese economy is nowhere near that.
You do know that the Conservatives also called FDR a “Communist” don’t you? Yet he set in motion the greatest and longest rally and longest period of economic improvement and increasing Middle Class in our history…. The American One World Group, made up of the richest 3% in America thought they could use the Chinese slave labor to make billions…. Pretty stupid in my book as all it did was make China an economic powerhouse with the fastest growing military budget in the world…
So, I may be off-base here, but I am getting a little tired of listening to how certain political parties are the blame for the problems we have. Rather than political, I think it is just plain natural human greed, independent of any party affiliation. I too agree that the anger happening in this world today is due to it and the high multiples of wealth the upper elite are able to make. I had a thought about how can we really change this in our country: A revolt by company shareholders filing class action lawsuits against companies and their board of directors for not fulfilling their fiduciary responsibilities to maximize shareholder value, by over compensating executives, while at the same time eliminating pensions, discriminating against the old, those with disabilities, etc, and everyone, simply by relocating jobs elsewhere. This is not shareholder value, this is raping the company for their own good. You never hear about any initiatives to reduce executive pensions or their golden retirement payouts that far eclipse those of the average employee. With a few exceptions (such as those who actually invented and starting the companies) execs are not worth anywhere near what they are paid. It is really just a network of good-old boys rubbing each others backs for their own benefit. At the expense of the companies and shareholders. That my friends, will be the downfall of our companies.
As Liberal Progressives policies pulled us our of the Conservative Destruction of 1929-1932 Income Inequity went down (it always does under Progressives) and salaries of the workers went up through Unionization….. Under Conservatives, Income Inequity goes up as control shifts to the 3% (as it did from 1981-2009)… The average citizen has less to spend and the velocity of money slows down and with it the economy… Always happens that way…
you sound just like a liberal socialist progressive democrat ( socialist communist democrat)
Thank you so much for such an insightful article about the comming Chinese crash.does that mean that most commodities, like iron ore, steel copper etc are going to be in the doldrums?
Now I dont know about you guys,but I usually get hit sideways from an unexpected suprise with hindsight I think I didnt see that one coming.Now it maybe China,who knows,Im sick of trying to out guess everything and everyone,Im sitting in cash,cos I know everything could head south even inverse
Martin, your view of the future of the Chinese economy seems to be the opposite of Larry’s. It would be very interesting to hear a forum between the two of you on this subject. Do you have points of agreement?
Mr. Weiss, I am looking for a safe heaven close to the US or world wide for me and my as-sit. You lived in Cuba and Brazil in the passed. WHERE do you sujest NOW before every thing explodes.
Excellent article, and everything you wrote seems very plausible and backed by your personal connections and other reports, however, but it seems to be to completely contradict Larry Edelson’s view on China one he re-iterated in last Friday’s RWR. I realize that different Newsletters have different viewpoints but this difference is extreme. It will be interesting to see who is proves to be correct, fortunately I am mostly in cash and CD’s.
Forgive the typos I hadn’t had my coffee.
Excellent presentation in convincing detail….Congratulations
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us Dr. Weiss. Although China is like the casinos in Las Vegas, what goes on in China does not stay in China. I am very concerned that the whole world has been turned into a giant casino where gamblers play with other people’s money and future. Democracy, free enterprise and people’s freedom are being mocked by politicians and schemers all over the world. Very little stability can be found anywhere in this day and age. This Is not ending well; and the longer the end is drug out the longer the pain will be to mankind all over the world.
Professor Weiss……reading your insights is so educational and truly appreciated. Thank you…thank you .
Marie
Socialism/communism are horrible systems of Big Government. The torture, pain and suffering endured by the peoples of Cuba and China seem never ending.
not only are there entire newly built ghost cities in china with no people living there, but the world’s largest mall just opened, about the size of 400 football fields.
Are you talking about the re-opening of the South China Mall, which is kind of old news now? Can you please provide a link to the story? If the mall activity and business is increasing, this is really good news for China, not bad. …if it does not fade away.
it’s the chengdu mall. it was completed a couple years ago. it’s not only the largest mall on earth, it is the largest building on earth. last i heard there’s many problems. owners are in jail on corruption. stores aren’t completed. some merchants never moved in. projects are left unfinished. rumors it’s a ghost mall. china is in recession. they’re having their 2009 moment like we did, only worse.
Matin:
Thanks for the well written letter and sharing your experiences in Cuba, Brazil and China. If China indeed continues to crumble due to world market conditions, but also because of their internal political dictatorial society, perhaps the Chinese population will rebel. If the Chinese Communist Party elite continue to suppress and indeed torture the new middle class, and if some within the elite are more than sympathetic to these evil ways, a new revolution may become a possibility. US Investors will certainly benefit if the Chinese economy eventually is part of a bigger picture, namely a Chinese “capitalist – free market” society. One could only hope the Chinese population can eventually escape their captors.
Our government hasn’t entirely resorted to the kinds of things the Chinese have done…yet. Don’t bet it won’t. All governments are simply the means by which those in power enforce their rule over the others. Our government originally began as a way of sharing power among the people. Most people abdicated that power to others. They didn’t want the bother. What we have now is the result. It aint exactly pretty, except by comparison to some of the others. It is unlikely to become better.
Interesting review and inplications for world’s economy – are we witnessing a gradual erosion of economic base of most countries? What’s the prospects for the current inventory of retirement funds? Are workers not in the cross path as cultures fail to make prudent decisions to protect the life savings of the workforce? Outlook is indeed very bleak!! Look forward to reading more of your articles.
The Chinese problem all leads back to “gold” as the ultimate hedge, which the Chinese of course will buy (their favorite thing), if their government stops any transfer of any funds from China.
Mises held this view as well. The money printers cause the suffering. The politicians are corrupt. The people catch the hell.
Thanks for this assessment – Something is going to come unraveled in one of these highly indebted countries, and if it is contagious it could undo the plans of the world’s central planners. Unlikely, but possible.
Martin,
I respect your comments. You have gained much experience over the years, first with your dad, and now on your own. You have painted a clear picture on what you see for China’s future in the days ahead. This is important for all your subscribers to know. But there is a problem i would like you to address. You and Larry seem to be 180 degrees apart. Both of you are highly respected in the field, but with this huge difference in opinion, I, as a subscriber am confused as to which way to invest.
Is there a way that you can pool your resources to validate your views at this point? What financial data can you and Larry can show (charts, graphs and such) that better substantiate a Weiss Research position.
Larry has his charts on Gold, oil, and stock market.
Mike has his charts, Martin has his.
If China’s crash is as big as you say, can Martin of Weiss research provide data to its subscriber that better shows s what’s happening, using charts and data that help to rule out subjectivity?
Thank you,
Jim
Jim, very good points and as you can see from my earlier post I completely agree, My own solution, not very original, is to hold mostly cash in US $’s and some Gold and Silver Bullion. I am a US citizen so that works for me as that is what I spend. For people in other countries it is a problem, so Gold for wealth protection is probably their best bet as from the outside our $ looks shaky. I say this because my wife and I have family in England and Belgium and also relatives in other European countries and most think the US, and our $, are not in such great shape either.
Very interesting article, for which many thanks.
You have recommended “building a strong hedge portfolio” – I would very much like to see how you define and construct such.
when these bubbles pop, they usually go all the way to a bottom. it will be interesting to see if the government intervention in the shanghai stock market has an effect, good or bad.
Hi Dr. Weiss:
The son of Marcos is running for VP of Philippine, and he claims that the Marcos era is the Golden Age. When asked about the corruption, he countered with the Reagon’s question: Were you better off under Marcos or under current democratic government?
China per capita income has increased from $36 per month to US$10000 now. I am strongly anti-communism, but the growth at China is very impressive though the government is corrupt.
U are wonderful Weiss about ur research. But, where is the save heaven now? Are we to turn to Africa or to America? Or could we preserve cash flow waiting for the burble burst or for the raining days?
Thanks for this big insightful article.
Toxic smog in China, a worker’s paradise? How could that be? Several years ago before they were stopped a research group launched helium filled balloons from several toxic air areas in China. Guess where a bunch of them turned up? Yep right here in California. Turns out best guess is that China is the largest source of air pollution in California, and not just along the coastal areas, it is fouling the air in the Great Central Valley, affecting agriculture.
China is already totalitarian. It has the tools in place to stop a Depression, just as Hitler turned a Depression into an Expansion and led his people to WW II. China could suddenly mobilize to a huge army and start marching across all of Eurasia and take millions of troops to the seas. They could conquer the Middle East, Australia, and Africa, while Russia marches on Europe. A nuclear exchange is not necessary until Russia and China go after each other.
You might want to read “the Bear and the Dragon” by Clancy…… He has an uncanny way of writing fiction about things that often come to action in the future…. In my opinion, lots of links to the Intelligence community… Then remember that it was written about 15 years ago, aye?…
Martin
Thank you for sharing your experiences and observations. It is difficult to express the errors of men and their schemes to attain and maintain power. The history of the world is full of examples of the horrors men will do to be rich and powerful. Socialism and its inherent ability to attract the greedy at the expense of its citizens is the downfall of all these countries and the United States is headed to that end. God bless you for the courage to share your life and observations.
1932-1981 was a period of “Socialism” and yet America prospered at a greater rate than at anytime in it’s history…You do know that ALL the Stock Market Crashes and Depressions have occurred after long periods of “Conservative” domination, don’t you? Is it possible that you are misinformed?
well we have had a socialist liberal progressive president BARACK OBAMA and where has it got us where is all the growth he promised all we heard from him on everything is its BUSHES FAULT for 6 1/2 yrs im still waiting for that 6 plus percent growth is the economy for every year he was POTUS . Everyone here knows socialism doesnt work except YOU .
Cheney/bush lost 60% of the Market before leaving office… Under Obama the stock market is at new highs…. Don’t you have ANY money in the markets?
Name me a communist / socialist society that is or has prospered! Truth is, America prospered in the 18th and 19th centuries before government got too involved in our affairs. We now have an elite class of politicians who rule for themselves. Its about human greed and power, not about dems or repubs, but given the choice, I’ll choose a conservative over a liberal any day.
Socialism….1932-1981 America…… All of European and Scandinavia Post WW-ll……. Communism: China and Vietnam since the Conservative Republicans sent millions of our Middle Class jobs there……Look in a College Economics book…….
If Conservatives really want the historical, economic TRUTH, why are they so quick to CENSOR?
It is not politics that matters. It is production. Robots, greenhouses, solar panels, rail, internet, and more will bring most production right back home. It is happening at warp speed and most people are simply not prepared. The interesting part is that half is driven by companies striving to stay in business in our own country and the other half is the well informed consumer. Stand back!
Ed the Grocer
NAFTA = Bill Clinton
In the end, people get the government they deserve.
Martin,
Thanks for your commentary. I’m sure we would like to hear more from you. A commentary of the ongoing “deflation vs. inflation battle” going on in the economy would be interesting.
It occurs to me that the future US economy might well experience, as a best case scenario, a very prolonged, gradual decline in the standard of living – should the government be successful in their current efforts.Or, if unsuccessful, a crash the likes of which no modern nation has ever experienced.
Recall, an economic misstep causes a recession. To generate a depression, leverage is needed. Leverage like the Trusts and of course the usual margin that allowed for 1929.
Most who read this are aware the current degree of financial leverage, exotic and otherwise is at stratospheric levels. This leaves, most likely, an insurmountable challenge for any government to bring about a safe landing.
One scenario that would make Martin and Larry both correct and incorrect. A brief inflation followed by a crash.
I suspect the next president will be named – Hoover. Republican or Democrat.
Odd how conservatives and liberals can’t express opinions without insulting the other. I have to say, especially conservatives. Very nasty. Very self conscious.
Wish all Americans were independents, other than those directly working for a party.
One thing both forget is the 9 trillion debt Obama inherited. When Reagan came into office Carter left him with appx. $850 billion of debt. Even Democrats seem to have forgotten that.
I agree Democrats tax and spend. But then, Republicans tend to borrow and spend. Recall the Cheney Doctrine, “Deficits Don’t Matter”!
Reagan and Bush’s trillions emerged during a time of prosperity. Aided by the Soviet collapse.
It’s worth noting. Obama inherited two wars and an economy in the process of crashing. That’s where his 9 trillion went. Democrats seem to be forgetting that as well.
So we’ve been doing this since last century and still we keep going UP and down, UP and down, UP and down, UP and down….
And we still don’t get it. Money is like a virus in the mind. It makes us snatch advantages over others, it makes us like clawing rats. We shit in our nest, we destroy our own species and we contaminate our water. Don’t you get it? Money doesn’t work. You only have to look at the gap between rich and poor – the statistics prove it over and over. But we never question money, especially those on hot pursuit of the concept, rabidly scratching out each others eyes and counting beans till death does it part. So now more expert opinion. But we are at war, we are killing our own kind, and yet we dream of further riches. Don’t you find it all rather crude and wanton?
Now that we can do everything online, in an open and free manner, we don’t need someone to “represent” us. We can redesign money and base it on something more noble than greed and competition (competition = scratch someone’s eyes out before they scratch out yours) Don’t you think we humans are capable of more than this rottenness? Yes with the internet, we can choose from a plethora of options. We provide the options, (we the people – remember them?) Instead of being thrown from pillar to post to contort ourselves to the most ridiculous laws since medieval times, we can decide our own destiny. Now isn’t that novel! This opportunity has NEVER occurred since the history of humankind. What are we doing with it? We’re waiting for someone to tell us. We dare not imagine. Oh no. Our imaginations have been exorcised. Instead we prefer to fund and adhere to the most draconian ideas, us, of the 21st century. Still driving around by engines designed over a hundred years ago with only cosmetic upgrades to what Henry Ford drove. We who look at the ones on greener pastures, hoarding their gluttonous trinkets while millions starve or sleep under bridges (they’re not allowed to sleep on the streets anymore) We who bow to our servants (public servants they’re sometimes called) with the only thing public about it is forced conformity. Why have a brain? Why be a unique magnificent human with genius you and prefer not to discover it? Despite laws and deeply embedded customs like money and bean counting for 40 hours per week, we still have choice. But we choose to exercise someone else’s choice, people we don’t know, people we only see on tv or read about in magazines. Most others feel inferior, unsuccessful failures. We do this to each other. Our masters cannot make us do anything. They know that. But we don’t. And so they milk us for all we’re worth. And we’re not happier for it. That is the side effect of our system of winner take all. The one with the money owns people, resources. They have free speech while we enforce censorship on each other, we plebs, and enforce the dictates of deranged thinkers. We vote for them, we read their expert opinions, and yet, they never say anything new and edifying. They keep spouting what others told them. It goes down the line. But the plebs enforce it on plebs. The experts, the lawmakers, they can do anything they like, they never get their hands dirty. And we look the other way. No wonder they have nothing but contempt for us. They’re snug in their underground mansions. Why, if they decided to press that little red button (which they will never do) they’d be alright, or so they think. Why not short that – will we get bombed to smithereens or will we not? I think if they haven’t done it by now, there is very little probability it will happen. Some force is stopping it. But I could be wrong.
Absolutely right. China has been working very hard to dig the beautiful tomb for herself. The catastrophe that will come pretty soon will be the biggest than ever.
Rational discourse is better than finger pointing and emotional ranting (venting can be helpful). Free marketers have valid points around effort/reward, but rarely look clearly at the destruction caused by complete deregulation of the kind leading to 1929 or Clinton enabling repeal of Glass-Steagall leading to the binge-purge into the 2000-2003 recession. FDR actually helped save capitalism from itself. USSR type socialism was a disaster. The weird “Commie-Capitalism” in China has been producing unsustainable “growth” linked to U.S. Trade policy in Washington under every president since Nixon! Plenty of blame to place on the military-industrial-political complex administered by dems and repubs!! Doom and Gloom doesn’t produce good products or services! We all need to be involved letting our policy makers know what policy will produce “sustainable” growth not more binging and purging (my description).
Thanks for your thoughts too Martin W.