The MSM and Trump narrative is that the economy is doing great because unemployment is only 4.3%. When the working age population totals 255 million and only 132 million are employed full-time and 21 million part-time, the 4.3% false narrative disintegrates. When 102 million Americans are not working, you’ve got a big problem, and propaganda spewed by the corporate media won’t fix it.
Anyone with half a brain knows this faux economic recovery has been nothing but a debt financed mirage created by the Fed, the Treasury Dept and Wall Street to continue their looting and pillaging rape of the American people. The debts are going bad, as they always do when you lend vast amounts of money to people incapable of paying the debt back. Hundreds of billions in student loan debt are bad. Now the debt implosion is hitting the auto industry. The issuance of debt has slowed dramatically and is going to contract soon.
Our economy is dependent upon consumers spending money they don’t have for shit they don’t need. Consumer spending accounts for 68% of GDP. Lenders are being forced to tighten lending standards as bad debt skyrockets to 2009 levels. What happens when lending slows down, retail sales fall, just like they did in May. Auto sales are falling. The only category showing any growth is the Amazon led internet sales. Gasoline sales plunged, but the average price was only down 2 cents from the prior month, so volume is the driving factor.
Restaurant sales and department store sales continue to plunge. Count on more bankruptcy announcements, more closings, and more space available signs in your local ghost mall. The 10 Year Treasury began the year at 2.45%, rose to 2.63% in mid March and now stands at 2.11%. Does the 10 Year Treasury fall 50 basis points when the economy is getting stronger?
The economy is either in recession or on the verge of recession. Facts are facts and no amount of bullshit spewed by the media, corrupt politicians, or boot licking central banker academics will change the facts. How long can the powers that be keep the stock market bubble inflated? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t go near the market with my money.
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)
This is not supposed to happen…
Headline retail sales tumbled 0.3% MoM in May, the biggest drop since January 2016 (and all the weather-related malarkey that was blamed on).
Core retail sales also dropped the same…
Retail sales less autos fell 0.3% in May, notably worse than the expectation of a 0.1% rise.
- Retail sales forecast range -0.3% to 0.3% from 79 economists surveyed
- Retail sales rose 0.4% in April
- Retail sales fell to $473.808b in May vs $475.009b in April
- Retail sales ex-auto dealers, building materials and gasoline stations unchanged in May
- Retail sales ‘control group’ unchanged m/m in May
The breakdown show a big tumble in Electronics and appliance stores, along with gasoline prices.
This is the weakest YoY retail sales growth since the election and continues to signal that despite record high stock market indices, all is not at all well in ‘Murica.
Car and home loans are down, commercial and industrial loans are down; that makes a recession 100% within a couple months.
speaking from the real estate standpoint, the next bubble has been under way since last summer, when prices went up and “buyer fever” started again.
Right now, REO, or “bank owned” inventory is low and those that are on the market are priced too high for their condition.
Investors call me daily asking if I will have anything coming on the market soon for them to flip, and buyers are insane and bidding 20, 30, and in some cases FIFTY thousand dollars over asking for homes that need 20-30K worth of work. They are buying these with FHA renovation loans, putting 3.5% down, and rolling the purchase PLUS the cost of the renovations into these loans.
So now you have a house you bought for 150K, put 30K into, only put $5250 as a downpayment, and have ZERO equity. Your monthly payment is about 1200 bucks. Seems good, right? So long as mom and dad both work and the hot water heater doesn’t let go, or one of them gets laid off or hurt, or the car breaks down.
I will have this job forever. Sigh
My brother and I are racing to get my parents house spruced up and on the market. It was specifically built to be handicap accessible by someone who was handicapped. Boise is one of those markets where people are currently offering more than asking price as soon as it hits the listings. It’s valued at $206,000 with about $56,000 in equity in it.
The really good news is that he owes no capital gains on the house he owned free and clear because they had to move for medical reasons. His, as he put it, “charmed life”, continues even after he passed.
I’m puzzled; the MSM and Govt drones mostly hate Trump, yet they haven’t raised the (fake) unemployment number? If Trump is such an ass and everything is going to hell because he’s President, why aren’t they raising the (fake) unemployment number to something like ShadowStat’s ~20% ?
Are they afraid that if consumer confidence (delusion) drops any more the Crunch will take away their advertising fees?
Or is it just that the Deep State and MSM are so allergic to the truth they can’t say it even if it makes Trump look bad? My head hurts.
wait till we’re closer to the next election–
though imho trump should give speeches about why he is doing it & use accurate #s himself–
My favorite…..those articles/posts/etc. that say stuff like ‘the market is poised for a 10% correction’. If they are referring to the first day or two…..okay. And when do people stop saying recession? So when they let the bond market go and the other bubbles start going poof, poof, and poof….then it’s a something more? What’s between recession and depression, just so I have my labels right?
Unfortunately,here’s some more bad news,this about supermarkets.
All is well with our economy. Right?
[img
:large[/img]
Yikes, that is a real horrorshow graph.
That “mountainous” rate peak period is under the leadership of the great underappreciated Paul Volcker. This is what it looks like when the phony Fed rate approximates what the REAL rate should be. Yeah, a couple of rough years then sweet growth for decades afterward. Kinda like 1921. BTW, Volcker was appointed by ….Jimmy CARTER! But Reagan was smart enough to keep him on. Maybe Stockman whispered in his ear?
Wouldn’t we be better off if we went back to 79/80 policies & squeezed all this excess capacity out of the system?
That along w/the $15/minimum wage to entice workers back into the system,wouldn’t that give employers the confidence to start expanding and hiring again.
We all know that’s why people aren’t working.
All kidding aside,how well do you think our economy would do if we cut all types of welfare for all but the truly physically/mentally disabled or kids,along w/a prohibition against new kids coming on the rolls.
I believe that that would cause an economic boon in this country like we haven’t seen in many years.
I agree that cutting the welfare is good, but that is not what would bring about the boom. The boom would be accomplished by getting the Fed out of the way, as well as the government. Then prices would come down to true supply / demand levels. Then the folks on welfare may not NEED welfare, as they could actually afford things with even a menial job. They could actually GET the menial jobs, because employers could actually AFFORD to hire people again because government drones would not be extorting tribute from them, and they could afford capital equipment, as well as be able to actually FORM capital and be ahead of inflation. Of course, healthcare would be cheaper as well, since it would find its equilibrium (80% less than now) due to the government cartel allowing free market competition.
Not good for sure. I think this is just a small step down a long staircase. We have been in a slow miserable decline for 103 years and they have the props under it. We won’t go out with a bang but a whimper(then a bang).
USA is circling the drain now a few years behind Venezuela. Most Americans still believe in the socialist free shit fairy. When we become Venezuela then SHTF.
Hide your guns and lead you’re gonna need them.