The Economic Tsunami : Coming Sooner Than You Think

[Robbien]

It seems that there are a growing number of people who believe as I do, that the economic tsunami planned by the Bush administration is probably only months away. In just 5 short years the national debt has increased by nearly 3 trillion dollars while the dollar has continued its predictable decline. The dollar has fallen a whopping 38% since Bush took office, due largely to the massive $450 billion per year tax cuts. At the same time, numerous laws have been passed (Patriot Act, Intelligence Reform Bill, Homeland Security Bill, National ID, Passport requirements etc) anticipating the need for greater repression when the economy takes its inevitable nosedive. Regrettably, that nosedive looks to be coming sooner rather than later.

. . .

The country has been intentionally plundered and will eventually wind up in the hands of its creditors as Bush and his lieutenants planned from the very beginning. Those who don't believe this should note the methodical way that the deficits have been produced at (around) $450 billion per year; a systematic and orderly siphoning off of the nation's future. The value of the dollar and the increasing national debt follow exactly the same (deliberate) downward trajectory.

This same Ponzi scheme has been carried out repeatedly by the IMF and World Bank throughout the world; Argentina being the last dramatic illustration. (Argentina's economic collapse occurred when its trade deficit was running at 4%; right now ours is at an unprecedented 6%.) Bankruptcy is a fairly straight forward way of delivering valuable public assets and resources to collaborative industries, and of annihilating national sovereignty. After a nation is successfully driven to destitution, public policy decisions are made by creditors and not by representatives of the people. (Enter, Paul Wolfowitz)

. . .

The Bush administration is mainly comprised of internationalists. That doesn't mean that they "hate America"; simply that they are committed to bringing America into line with the "new world order" and an economic regime that has been approved by corporate and financial elites alike. Their patriotism extends no further than the garish tri-colored flag on their lapel. The catastrophe that middle class Americans face is what these elites breezily refer to as "shock therapy"; a sudden jolt, followed by fundamental changes to the system. In the near future we can expect tax reform, fiscal discipline, deregulation, free capital flows, lowered tariffs, reduced public services, and privatization. In other words, a society entirely designed to service the needs of corporations.

http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_16735.shtml

[Vincardog]

1. Exactly so read ONE WORLD, READY OR NOT by William Greider

Unrestrained capital is going to ruin the US and world economy

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Most peoople don't realize how close we are to disaster

[asjr]

8. It certainly frightens me. Our government is

out of control. It may take something like this to wake everyone up, but by then it will be too late. Sometimes I think I am watching the nazis reenter Poland.

[Up2Late]

3. Thanks for that, I like that website

I hadn't yet made the wolfi connection

[Robbien]

6. They didn't mention it but the Bolton nomination is also a piece

of the whole cloth.

The other important paragraph in this article is this one:

The difficulties facing both the dollar and the economy are not insurmountable. The world has been more than willing to compensate for America's wasteful spending as long as America shows itself to be a responsible steward of the global economy. However, the administration's military and economic recklessness suggests that some of the key players on the world stage (particularly Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Germany, France, China, Brazil) are collaborating on an alternate plan; a contingency plan. If Iran is bombed in an unprovoked act of aggression, we will certainly see this plan activated. The most likely scenario would be a quick switch to the euro that would have grave implications for the American economy. (Russia has already indicated that it will do this).

Spain is also seeing the writing on the wall thus the strengthening of economic ties with Venezuela and other Latin American countries.

[Frederik]

11. It is also interesting

like a DU poster pointed out in another thread, that France has sold something like 42% of its US Treasury bonds during the last year. Most countries have increased their holdnings, of course, as US debt has increased, including China.

[Up2Late]

12. Yup, you can see that in recent moves by Venezuela

They supply about 1/4 of the Oil the U.S. imports, and it looks like, if we make anymore provocative moves, they are planning to cut us off. Most likely Russia will do that too.:evilfrown:

[mikehiggins]

4. And like in other nations

the response will be violence.

There are approximately 350 MILLION weapons in private hands in this country. The ancilliary military (National Guards, reserves, etc.) are full of resentful and angry soldiers who beleive (quite rightly) that they have been used and abused by this administration. The "All-Volunteer" army cannot be relied upon to "keep the peace" here at home, especially when the people they are expected to shoot at are their moms and dads and others.

What the "internationalists" will garner, if this writer's analysis is even partially correct, will be total anarchy and rebellion, and what they will cause in the end is the collapse, not of US "independence of the world order" but of civilization as they know it.

And then, of course, there will come the pandemic and thousands of years of history will grind to a halt until the dying ends.

Hey, I'll bet there's a religion in all that somewhere. Where is L. Ron Hubbard when you need him.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. I have said it before

the banchrupcy bill is the seed of their own destruction

that one woke some people up

Think about this, what happens when people have no more hope? (The missery index goes up), when it reaches a magic number 90% or above, you tend to have very nasty and violent revolutions... can yuo say France and Russia?

[grasswire]

25. the gun-owners are the canaries

...in this gold mine. It seems self-defeating for the BFEE to alienate the National Guard at a time when they might want the Guard to repress the American people.

I suppose we can infer that the armies of the elite against the people will be privatized and the plan is already written.

Agghhhhh!! It just occurred to me that this could be the reason they have sent the Guard overseas and worn them out!!

[Laughing Mirror]

7. The author seems to be saying the collapse will be brisk

and will be brought about by US bombing Iran in June and the sudden switch by Russia and others to Euros.

But what if it is Israel called in to do the Lord's work, as US proxy? Would that activate the Euro plan?

[Robbien]

9. I believe BushCo is trying to keep the balls in the air long enough

to bomb Iran, but is having problems because of the out of control energy prices. The article is saying the collapse will happen after the Iran bombing because the global elites will no longer have any need to keep the economic balls in the air.

[megatherium]

13. That's the rub. I don't think either Israel or the US will attack Iran.

It's too risky; allowing the Persians to have the bomb is less risky. (Even the folks in Iran who despise the mullahs and who want western freedoms tend to think having the bomb would be good, because of national pride.) An Iranian bomb will lead to a cold war with Israel, not Armaggedon.

[Frederik]

10. Hayekian economic policy

The State/public policy/popular, representative democracy = evil.
The only democracy that should be allowed is the one that is exercised through the market, which annihilates "one man, one vote". There is still the ritual of elections, but they mean nothing as only one economic policy should be possible, cemented through international institutions such as the WTO which transfers decision-making power out of the hands of elected representatives and into the hands of transnational technocrats and their national counterparts.
And that "ideal" economic policy is the one that lead to depression and fascism in the inter-war years. Unrestrained capital movements, no barriers to trade, no public intervention in the economy, no welfare state. Coupled with the current global drive towards ever larger, ever fewer and more integrated systems of corporate conglomerates and cartels, the stage may at some point be set for a global techno-dictatorship ruled by corporations, Harvard and Cambridge-educated economists and international bankers, and policed by the US military. A populist, corporate-friendly dictator will be needed to seduce the American people to accept this new reality, which is where Ahnold enters the picture.

At least, that's the dream of people like George Shultz (of Bechtel, JP Morgan Chase, American Enterprise Institute, Committee on the Present Danger, Hoover Institution, CFR, Bilderberg, Trilateral Commission, Bohemian Club, Alfalfa Club, Nixon and Reagan adm. fame), who was the mentor of Wolfowitz, Cheney, Condi, Rumsfeld etc, and who is presently Ahnold's economic adviser and was the architect behind the Californian energy "crisis".

[passy]

14. What happens if you throw the Election Fraud coming to light into the mix?

I wonder what would happen then, the country will probably go through a transition period, with the clearing out of the White House of all those power mad neocons.
Other countries with similarly corrupted regimes, usually employ the army to crush dissent, but I doubt that the US Army would be willing to take part in this.
Of course all this could be countered by having another terrific attack like 9/11 but this time involving a few American bred lefties, like us here on DU.
The Question is, to what lengths are * and Co willing to go to stay in power, I think that they are already walking on thin ice as it is.
The corporations that make their profits from American customers are certainly not too interested in a collapse of the economy.
Will they take the side of the oppressed, will they use the media they own to take down the government?
I'm sure that there is a lot of very rich people who see what is going on and they might not feel like loosing all their wall street investments, but then again they probably will leave the sinking ship that is America just before the Krash.

[oneold1-4u]

16. walking on thin ice

With the hugeness of industry and commerce in this nation, the rich and powerful will never really walk on "thin ice". With the biggest world wide war,(II) the moneyed and powerful simply moved assets to safety, if only temporarily, and never really lost anything. Most never tried to hide their war profits from doing business with enemy nations. That is ongoing today even stronger! The US enables the rich of every nation to take every advantage of consumers around the world and attempts to control all governments with threats of impoverishment and world bankruptcy if they won't fall in line!
Very soon the US will call for a world military force (without UN sanction) because they can not count on the average citizens of free nations to do their bidding. The ranks will come from the most impoverished, uneducated, lowest living standard, peoples of the earth. Consider the building of pyramids and understand what one might do for a shred of clothing and a bite of nourishment! We, the free are not alone in this world!

[Robbien]

18. (without UN sanction) That's where Bolton comes into the mix

Yes, this movement is much bigger than a uprising of the populist can stop.

[oneold1-4u]

15. Survive?

What little I, and thousands, have as money is already nearly worthless. My IRA might be useful to start a fire for a little warmth!
Fortunately my years left to be here are not many but I hope as a survivor, I might help others to create some safety and security for themselves and loved ones.
Begin today considering the most meager of necessities for health and well being. The greatest human needs are water, food, clothing, shelter, and warmth against cold.
I have already lived in a tent and warm wood stove with a pot of beans or stew on it. I've carried water in a bucket, jugs, large canteens, RV tanks and small cisterns. I've used lanterns, candles, lamps and propane when available for light and warmth. For a couple of hundred $s one can buy bedding and used clothing for year-round wear for more than one person. Dehydrated foods, well sealed, can be used safely for more than a year. Quality seeds for foods can be kept indefinately in a sealed can.
Back about 40 years they had people digging underground for family atomic bomb shelters and before 2000, many prepared for any inconsistencies to their lives. Even today living in S. CA, most people have an emergency survival bag or box, and also those living in tornado alley. Preparation really isn't so costly when you could still buy enough land somewhere to camp, for less than the cheapest new car!

[Boomer]

17. I've been preparing for the last few years

I liquidated enough of my investments to pay off my mortgage, which wasn't due for over 12 years. I'd rather spend the money now and own my house outright than take the chance that my investments will still be worth something in ten years.

We're turning the back yard into a vegetable garden, complete with dwarf fruit trees and grape arbor. It's small, but we're making use of every square foot that we can. We also have a cold pantry stocked with six months worth of food staples, camp stove, and other survival gear that does not require electricity.

And most importantly, perhaps, we're simply preparing ourselves emotionally for what is ahead. We appreciate every single day in which we can afford a dinner out, day trips, new clothing, warmth during winter, AC in summer, and all manner of small luxuries that make life pleasant. And we never forget that these are indeed luxuries and that we will probably not have them for much longer.

[tsuki]

21. Here too Boomer. Last of April, we close on a piece of property that

will set us absolutely debt free.

[Eloriel]

19. The missing piece of the puzzle for me, and I'm almost ashamed

I didn't figure it out for myself:

This same Ponzi scheme has been carried out repeatedly by the IMF and World Bank throughout the world;

And, might I add, what a cheery little thread THIS is, however realistic it also seems.

[Robbien]

20. It is why the Argentina debt refinancing was so important to watch

It was surprising the swap of 30 cents on the dollar went through as well as it did. What is not surprising is that the US is trying to stop the deal from going through.

Another thing to watch is the gold self-off proposal of the IMF which the US is also trying to stop.

Argentina must not be allowed to recover and the gold must remain capped to support the dollar for a while longer.

[Up2Late]

22. no need to be ashamed, this piece originally comes from...

...CounterPunch <http://www.counterpunch.org/>

The folks that run that site are month, or even years ahead of almost everyone on the web.:hippie:

[Andy_Stephenson]

23. So....

Game, set and match.

[BadGimp]

24. ok this is some scarry s&#@

I remember telling a friend pre-selection 2000 that it seemed to me that the cabal knew something the rest of us did not.

They still do but now more and more of us do as well.

How completely un-American these folks are.

God help us.

[indepat]

26. Judging by the stock market the last three business days, the tsunami

might have already begun.