Tag: American economy

The United States Does Not Have an Economy

Guest Post by Paul Craig Roberts

The US financial sector has long looted other countries.  A number of participants have described the process.  First a country is enticed with bribes to the leaders to take out loans that cannot be serviced or repaid.  Then in comes the IMF. Austerity is imposed on the population.  Public services and employment are cut to free resources for debt service, and public assets are sold to repay the loan.  Living standards fall, and US corporations take over the country’s economy.

Continue reading “The United States Does Not Have an Economy”

And yet, there’s still plenty of good news.

Via Sovereign Man

On January 2, 1710, King Louis XIV of France was finally ready for peace.

After nearly seven decades on the throne (which still makes him the longest reigning sovereign monarch in human history), Louis XIV had seen more wars than he could probably remember.

Most recently, France had been fighting the War of Spanish Succession against virtually all of Europe. It had been incredibly costly — France alone suffered half a million casualties, plus the war had ruined the economy.

Continue reading “And yet, there’s still plenty of good news.”

We’re Going To Need A New Misery Index

Via The Blue State Conservative

Lately it seems like we’re living a rerun of That 70s Show.  America is suffering through many of the same problems we had during the Carter administration – with some of them on a grander scale.

  • Inflation – check
  • Skyrocketing energy costs – check
  • Contracting job market – check
  • Advancing foreign threats – check
  • Immigration crisis – check
  • Hostage crisis in an Islamic country – DOUBLE CHECK

Continue reading “We’re Going To Need A New Misery Index”

America’s Trade Deficit: An Enormous Concern

Via Antonius Aquinas

Another milestone (or more accurately millstone) was recently passed by the U.S. economy as the January trade deficit surged to an all-time record high of $107.6 billion, up some $26 billion from December’s $80.7 billion imbalance.*

Like the gigantic federal budget deficit, the trade imbalance is no longer talked about by the financial press.  There has been little criticism of President Biden on either matter nor are Administration officials questioned about how things can be reversed.  In fact, some commentators bizarrely contend that trade deficits show how robust an economy actually is!

The trade deficit was supposed to be alleviated by former President Trump who vowed throughout the 2016 campaign that he would rectify the situation and repeatedly ridiculed U.S. trade negotiators for their lack of financial acumen.  He touted that his “friendship” with world leaders, most notably Chinese President Xi Jinping, would result in favorable trade deals for the country.

Continue reading “America’s Trade Deficit: An Enormous Concern”

UBS: Gold’s “Tried-and-Tested Insurance Characteristics” Shine Brighter than Ever

Via Birch Gold Group

UBS: Gold has Tried-and-Tested Insurance Characteristics that Shine Brighter than Ever

This week, Your News to Know rounds up the latest top stories involving gold and the overall economy. Stories include: UBS on gold’s “tried-and-tested insurance characteristics” continue to shine through; a case study in the economic benefits of a large hoard of gold; and should individual American states invest in gold?

Continue reading “UBS: Gold’s “Tried-and-Tested Insurance Characteristics” Shine Brighter than Ever”

Should Minimum Wage Implementers be Jailed?

Via International Man

Wage

Notice the question posed above mentions implementers, not supporters. The latter consists of, what? 95% of the electorate? We can document that some 2/3 of the voters favor a minimum wage of $15. It is my estimate that virtually all voters favor this law at some level. That is, perhaps at most 5% of those who cast a ballot favor wiping this enactment entirely from the law books.

The former, in sharp contrast, consist of at most a few hundred people, perhaps 1000 at most. It would consist of all the senators and congressmen who passed this legislation, the judges who rule in its favor, the police who arrest those who violate it, and the jailers who incarcerate them.

Continue reading “Should Minimum Wage Implementers be Jailed?”

Strange Days

Guest Post by The Zman

Way back in the time before corona, it was conventional wisdom that shutting down the economy would have dire consequences for the economy. Whether you were on the panic side or the skepticism side, you were sure that locking down the economy was going to be bad for the economy. The stock market losing a third of its value in a week seemed to confirm it. No matter the truth of the virus, the consequences was going to be an unprecedented economic depression.

Continue reading “Strange Days”

America Abandoned the Values That Made It Great

Guest Post by Bill Bonner

Homer: Moe, this is Astrid, my dealer, and these are my fans: Gunter, Kyoto, and Cecil Hampstead on Cecil Cecil.

Moe: So, uh, you guys are Eurotrash, huh? How’s that, uh, workin’ out for ya?

Gunter: Eh, to be honest, we are adrift in a sea of decadent luxury and meaningless sex.

Moe: Uh-huh… so, uh, where might this sea be located?

– Dialog from The Simpsons

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – We arrived at Kennedy International Airport yesterday; it was a rude return.

Getting into a cab in New York is grim, like being arrested in Europe. You are ushered into the back seat, with a thick pane of plastic separating you from the driver, who doesn’t speak English.

But we eventually got to our hotel, and all was well. We’ve come back for Thanksgiving… Christmas… weddings… funerals… grandchildren – the stuff of ordinary life.

Continue reading “America Abandoned the Values That Made It Great”

Brace For Impact! The U.S. Economy Is Going Down, And It Is Going Down Hard…

Submitted by CCRider

Guest Post by Michael Snyder

I have so many bad economic numbers to share with you that I don’t even know where to start. I had anticipated that the U.S. economic slowdown would accelerate during the fourth quarter of 2019, and that is precisely what has happened. The Federal Reserve is trying to do all that it can to keep us from officially slipping into a recession, and the federal government is literally spending money as if tomorrow will never come, but all of that intervention has not been enough to reverse our economic momentum. We are really starting to see conditions begin to deteriorate very rapidly now, and 2020 is already shaping up to be the most pivotal year for the U.S. economy since 2008.

Continue reading “Brace For Impact! The U.S. Economy Is Going Down, And It Is Going Down Hard…”

Can the American Economy Be Resurrected?

Guest Post by Paul Craig Roberts

“Lenin said that capitalists would sell the Communists the rope to hang them. But as matters turned out, capitalists let China sell them the labor that served to hang American capitalism.” — Michael Hudson

I was surprised to be given credit by readers for Trump ordering American corporations out of China and to bring the jobs back to the American workers that the corporations had abandoned. American economists, financial media, and Washington policymakers had never paid any attention to my analysis of US economic decline in terms of globalism and the offshoring of US jobs and technology, and I thought readers hadn’t either. Many readers tell me that economics is over their heads. My economic articles are the least read on my website.

Continue reading “Can the American Economy Be Resurrected?”

The Diminishing American Economy

Guest Post by Paul Craig Roberts

Since June 2009 Americans have lived in the false reality of a recovered economy.  Various fake news and manipulated statistics have been used to create this false impression.  However, indicators that really count have not supported the false picture and were ignored.

For example, it is normal in a recovering or expanding economy for the labor force participation rate to rise as people enter the work force to take advantage of the job opportunities.  During the decade of the long recovery, from June 2009 through May 2019, the labor force participation rate consistently fell from 65.7 to 62.8 percent.  https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-labor-force-participation-rate.htm

Continue reading “The Diminishing American Economy”