What was in the Cards Before the Virus

          Is 'Merca Doomed? The long term answer is "Yes", of course, but long term is nebulous term at best. Eventually all things come to an end and are replaced with something else. The next question is; will it come to an end fairly quickly because of massive manipulations of our rapidly deteriorating society by the politicos and the bankers? Or, can economic momentum slowly slide for a few decades? Can the economy be saved by the US Treasury and the Central Bank, and other, more shadowy figures, to forestall the end to another time in the future were everything will miraculously come to a "soft landing"? I'll answer those right now! The problems with the economy are far from over, merely hidden through massive injections of liquidity, and the progress we see in the "improving economy" only helps a select few, especially under President Trump! There's probably going to be a very hard landing, and it's going to hurt a lot. Some people will face issues like they've never faced before like homelessness for those in the middle class, real starvation, riots, an end to entitlements, an end to basic freedoms, and possibly a second "civil" war or 'revolution' if things get bad enough. The start of the economic collapse as begun and it will be very noticeable as early as early as 6 to 9 months from now depending on the elite's plans for the rest of the world for that's when the current credit inflation and its consequences will start hitting the 'Mercan consumer's wallet in a big way.

          We're now in another election year, and the rudeness; the attacks on people's character; the "whistle blowers" and bimbos suddenly coming out of the woodwork again has just begun. Trump's impeachment, and the all the bias, dishonesty, and tattletale telling is both over and just getting started. It's clear that the Liberals and the Leftists aren't going to be "tolerant" In a country where "inclusion" has come to mean exclusion. "Fairness" has come to mean bias; and cartoon frogs, "OK" signs (which is the wrong hand gesture for OK - it's actually a 666 hand gesture), and Cancelling, has shown that the Politically Correct are eating their own already, and "We" have a long, long way to go until November.

          All Empires rise and fall and 'Merca is no exception, regardless of what the 'Mercan Exceptionalists and the New World Order promoters loudly proclaim: 'Merca is the exception to the rule and that "We" can carve out "Our" own destiny and Empire, New World Order style, and never see a serious decline, even when we have already done a lot of things, and are doing alot of things, that have bankrupted and broken countries and empires before "Us" without fail long before the stage that "We're" in right now.

          Why do great nations fall? The Ancient Greeks, the Roman Empire, the British Empire and soon to be the United States of America -- They all made the same mistakes, turning their backs on the principles that made them great. America tried to spend and tax itself out of a great recession. Enormous so-called "stimulus" spending, massive changes to health care, government takeovers of private industries, and crushing debt. The American Federal Empire will fall for the same reasons that many empires fall - it will go spectacularly and publically bankrupt.

          "We" have been able to be a Consumer Society for the World because "Our" dollar is the World Reserve Currency for the world, and that will soon come to an end. Then 'Merca will be in a royal clusterfuck, and the "American Federal Empire" will start collapsing piece by piece, and the Chinese Yuan, the IMF's SDRs, or a basket of currencies may take over and that currency may become the new World Reserve Currency and then they will gain control of the NWO from the uber-wealthy white men who control it now. The massive foreclosures, lawsuits, the repossessions, and bankruptcies are still over the horizon - but they'll soon be hear in spades...

We are entering a time of financial stress in America. The federal government is broke. Most of our state and local governments are broke. Record numbers of Americans are going bankrupt. Record numbers of Americans are being kicked out of their homes. Record numbers of Americans are now living in poverty.

The debt-fueled prosperity of the last several decades came at a cost. We literally mortgaged the future. Now nothing will ever be the same again.

          Many of the problems that 'Merca has and will have in the future were hatched over the last 40 to 80 years, and unless there is a radical about face, a turn-around - a repentance,. the end of our economy and our rapidly deteriorating society will arrive much sooner than it has to. It's easy to put the blame on the government, on the big banks, or on large international mega-corporations, but the main culprit is the face "We" see when "We" look into a collective mirror. "We the People" once had humility, grace, civility, honor and with a tremendous amount of respect for others, but now "We" have become lazy, uncivil, rude, violent, apathetic, gullible, ignorant, dumb, and complacent. "We" need a very loud wake-up call! NOW! - "We" need several loud wake-up calls to salvage what we can of what's left of the 'Merca of our forefathers! We need not become serfs in the land our forefathers fought for, created, and died for!! That wake-up call can be done easily now, or by the hard way through the College of Hard Knocks with a PhD Disaster...

Have you noticed that most Americans seem to know far more about American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Justin Bieber and their favorite sports teams than they do about world affairs? Most Americans cannot even find Iran or Syria on a map, and if you told them that, say, food riots are happening in those nations right now most of them would not even care anyway. We've become a very self-centered, self-involved and self-absorbed nation.

          The first problem this nation, like may others, has is its money system has been largely debased over time by the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) to pay for what "prosperity" we have had during the "good years" at a hefty profit when there was a (sort of) common morality, "full employment" (jobs were considered to be plentiful), and homeowners had enough home equity appreciation on their homes to be able to borrow against it for frivolities like vinyl siding, boats, home 'makeovers', and new cars every year in some cases. There was a time (the Sixties) that $6,25/hr was an executive salary - now, it's well below the minimum wage! Things like unemployment have also changed radically, and its possible that they're long term, permanent changes - the problems will no longer just go away if we refuse to heed the warnings of the trends forecasters. I can hear it now ... 'Nah, nah, nah - I can't hear you - Nah Nah Nah! - I can't hear you!' However, the debasing of the value of the dollar has become noticeable even to the 'common citizen' by now - and it's been brought to you by your friendly Fed all along...

          It is politically and mathematically impossible to repay what the government owes others. Even though the Fed just changed some accounting rules that will technically keep it going for much longer than it should, but it will be the lack of faith in the dollar by "Our" creditors that will bring it down. It's getting to the point where "we" can't even pay the interest on the debt! That's how bad it's become -- and no mere tinkering with the budget deficits will save "us". Negative interest rates will only work for some for a short term, and it ends in disaster..

          The problems 'Merca faces are more than just economic ones, it's about the pervasive fraud, lying, cheating, immorality, and dishonesty in government, business, and in our personal lives. It has become pandemic, and it's showing 'Mercans that they too should lie, cheat and steal if they believe they won't get caught. Painting a false picture by massaging balance sheets of the financial health of big business and gov'mint is rapidly growing, especially in the financial sector in general and banking in particular. Both insolvent gov'mints and private institutions that are near bankruptcy are using creative accounting to hide their dire straits, hoping to push the Day of Reckoning to the far future, which to them is just a couple of years away or an election cycle away. Selected government and private entities have been propped up with bailout money from the US Treasury and the Fed because they've ben deemed too-big-to-fail or have political clout in Washington. They are walking zombies, dependent on handout loans to stay afloat.

          These loans are about to come to an swift end as the US Government and other lesser 'gov'mintal entities, like states counties, cities and towns, hunts, scavenges, and canvasses the world for more 'Greater Fools' to buy their questionable junk bonds at whatever low interest rates they can still garner now, as interest rates will start becoming scarce in the near future, drying up what loans are still available to Main Street. The point may come where the gov'mint won't be able to pay the interest on the National Debt without issuing a great deal of naked funny money (Quantitative Easing = Inflation), and that will finally end when its creditors lose faith in their investments dollar's value because the situation will be so dire that even the 'Pollyanna' MSM won't be able to whistle up a cheery tune...

          Most of the ideas that I've heard from these politicians about spending $billions for this or $trillions for that is because "We" can all have all this free stuff without actually paying for it because we're rich and powerful. "We" can just Charge It! on the National Credit Card! Sorry, that will be so OVER soon! "There is no such thing as a Free Lunch" - some nobody has already paid for it or will pay for it eventually - and it isn't the 1%!

          These "Freebie" proposals miss and boldly ignore the stark fact that "We" literally can't afford it - it's too expensive. Being 'too expensive' means that the Illusion of the Fiat dollar being worth something between the time you earn it, and the time when you get paid and spend it will fade even faster. That's price inflation and it's caused by losing faith in the dollar's value because of monetary inflation. "We" can NEVER pay off the National Debt because "Our" currency is itself monetized National Debt! It's like a check made out to 'cash'. Even all the public and private hard assets like real estate, gold, and silver would only cover a minuscule fraction of it. When push comes to shove "We" will default on Everything, and there will be NO credit for anyone anymore.

Common purpose is AWOL in our politics lately because whatever terrain of the issues is not occupied by sheer lying is filled by cowardice and ignorance. We lie to ourselves incessantly about the nation's condition. We've suspended both the rules of accounting and the rule of law in banking matters (lying). We're too frightened to go into the vaults and find out exactly how much we've swindled ourselves (cowardice). And we aggressively misunderstand issues that will shape our future, such as how much oil is really in the ground - all of this prompting us to march off the edge of a political cliff where we hang today, the cartoon coyote of nations, undone by our ACME techno-fantasies.

          One can watch the old "Jerry Springer Show", "Cheaters", or the "Maury Show" to get a sense of where this country is headed among the lower classes. The lack of manners, basic morality, dishonesty, and obstinate obsessions over sex and relationships, or the lack thereof, aren't that disturbing anymore - "we" have become used to it. Almost everyone knows this stuff was going on, but it took exploitative TV hosts to bring them into the national social notice. Their audiences need someone to look down upon, and there's no end to the string of guests that fulfill the yen of the audience to judge others less fortunate than themselves, yet in a few short years this lack of ethics has spread throughout the country from the bottom up - but also from the top down. The weird part is most of the guests on the "Jerry Springer Show" are from the Bible Belt. Their lack of basic morality and civility can be put at the doors of both the public school systems and the country's major religion's inability to instill it on its subjects congregants sheep parishioners, (probably because the average preacher has little no clue about what morality is really about because it stems from Philosophy, not religion), or the Christian Church isn't that powerful anymore in 'Mercan society.

" How do you know that a professional politician is spouting lies? When s/he opens her/his mouth to speak:...

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State." Joseph Goebbels

          "Our" government lies to us. ! Surprise! Anyone who hasn't been comatose during most of their existence on this Earth realizes this eventually. In fact most of what comes out of government is a lie of one sort or another, or at least something less than the truth. It covers the gamut's from diplomatic cables to the 'classification' of secrets itself.. Let's say there's a weapon system being produced by our friendly neighborhood Military Industrial Complex and an evaluation is due to be released. The ranking of lies, er Classification Systems goes something like this:

• Unclassified: These weapons are great new tools to stop the enemy in their tracks and it is capable of destroying as many as 1000 multiple targets and shoot around corners, at the same time. No enemy countermeasures are effective against this new weapon. It is safe to operate by it's users...

• Sensitive: Not to be released to foreign governments. It can only track 250 enemy targets at a time with any accuracy. It's operation may sometimes harm its operators...

• Secret: An actual use on the battlefield shows that the enemy can sometimes hopelessly jam the weapons. It can only target 200 enemy targets at a time. It's operation can harm its operators.

• Top Secret: The weapon is a piece of trash and the enemy can actually fool it into hitting the wrong targets, including its operators. It is very dangerous for the operators to use. The only reason the weapon is still alive is because a VIP Senator has most of the production contracts in his state.

• Above Top Secret: I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you!

          The most common answer to the economic problems that come from the TV and radio advertisements is to buy gold and silver. That will only protect what you currently have. The general drop in your living standard will still affect you and your family. According to Gresham's Law bad money drives out good money, so spending that horde of silver or gold coins will usually be done under economic pressure and at some point you'll be in a panic and have to sell which will lower the resale value, so you'll lose most of the value, or worse, you'll have to use them at face value. If gold and silver are going to the moon in value then why is God/dess' name would anyone sell it to you now? The truth is that actual gold and silver coins (the best way to own them IMHO) are scarce and aren't easily available at this point in time except for a hefty premium. Relying on silver and gold to appreciate once you've bought it is to believe there are people down the road (the greater fool) who can or will buy your stash after it appreciates in value. It's a fool's way to wealth. In gold's case it will be worth too much. It's also having to buy retail and then having to sell under duress at wholesale prices, and you'll have to pay income taxes on the transactions. In a great panic the government may make your gold coins illegal again, so when you most need it you'll not find a market for them. You're buying retail, and you'll be forced to sell it wholesale. If you feel that everything is going to Hel and it's time to bug out, then gold might pay for your flight out of the country - at premium prices. Then, your pilot may be a policeman trolling for hoarders or gold bugs. Your wealth may be commandeered or arrested for the greater good, or some such gov't nonsense.

          One way to stave off the inevitable price increases for a while is to stock up on things like oil, food, and other commodities in advance, but that only works if you know the proper way to store them and have a place to store them. You can use them even if you haven't got an emergency on your hands over time. You may find out that when you're money isn't any good anymore that you can barter for stuff using your stash of goods. Then, again, there's always the threat of the government deciding that you're hoarding and they'll confiscate what you have. Buying seeds to plant assumes that you'll have a place to plant them. This also depends on the public's knowledge of and willingness to barter, and most people in the US haven't done this except for small amounts, or don't know how to do it, so you're again dependent on others to determine the value of your MREs. Sorry, the lone gunman and his hoard of supplies or a small nuclear family making it on their own is only a pipe dream - you'll need cooperation with others to survive.

          When TSHTF you may be in a situation where you have to relocate, whether it's the situation itself, like an earthquake or flood, or the government (again) wants to evacuate the area you're in. You may even be somewhere other than home. Plans to have a stash of stuff outside your home sounds good, but it assumes that you will have a way to get to your stash in times of emergency and having a "safe" second place to stash it... or it could be confiscated by rogue cops. The "authorities" already know your secret paths you want to use - they'll be waiting for you.

          You may have noticed that I don't have much hope in the System righting itself or being able to fix the Systemic problems we have in our country, much less our world. There just isn't the political will to do so - there will never be the political will to do so, no matter which DemoGrafts and Publicans we elect - even Trump can't slow the tide down. The US is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the international mega-corporations that feed the Beast at election time. Trump has deliberately put people from these companies, like Goldman Sachs, and the other banks in charge of the playground in Washington DC - the rot is too deep to reform it in any meaningful way- we're still headed for that 20 foot thick steel barrier at 100 120 140 160 180 200 mph with cliffs on both sides of the narrowing roadway.

"I think what should happen in the US is for the president to tell the US, you have to tighten your belts. 'We have to go through hard times for 5 years to repair the damage that was committed over 20-25 years by the Federal Reserve, by the Treasury, by the politicians, and somebody has to tell the truth. But the politicians keep on fueling the illusion that you can spend yourself out of the misery, and that by printing money you will improve the economy, which is not the case." Marc Faber

          To Recap: Eventually, whether sooner or later, the wheels of "Our" economy will either slowly grind to a halt or hit a proverbial '24 feet thick brick wall' and conformity will become the new trend to watch. "We" already have a National Debt that is unpayable, and as it soon becomes clear that it will never be paid off, even if the Gov'mint takes everything we have. Even the interest YoY on this debt is becoming a huge burden, which is why interest rates for the wealthy is just above .05%. 'Merca will inevitably slide towards the Greater Depression and possibly into the "black ages. Those who don't conform will be labeled terrorists or worse, and will be rendered either to a foreign country for torture or kept right here at home in one of the many FEMA torture Camps ostensibly set up to contain illegal aliens. They're really for protesters and people who believe in the Constitution and those that still have Constitutional Rights. Some people are already labeling free speech as terrorism, so watch what you say, Loose Lips Sink Ships, because you can be sure of who's listening in. Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt. It's only a matter of time to when the slightest deviation from political and spiritual correctness that will soon be foisted upon the citizenry will be excuse for draconian responses from the Government. The antidote to such thinking is Franklin Delano Roosevelt's famous line, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself"....

          I'm going to make this short and sweet. "Houston, we have a problem"'. It's unfixable and will get us all without notice. It's called CO2 and we're dumping approximately 36-40 billion tons of it into the air every year. It's has been about 360 tons per decade. CO2 is a gas that doesn't combine with much else because it's energy level is so low - chemists and biologists use it as an energy dump for their reactions. So, getting rid of it would be very, very expensive. CO2 is what made Venus the way it is. It takes 1000 years to be fully absorbed into the ecosystem. All the carbon credit swaps, environmental taxes, and hand-wringing means nothing, and nothing will do any good. Stopping these releases will push "us" back to the 1500's. I haven't even gotten to methane yet, which is 20 times more potential a green house gas capacity then CO2, and its a St. Greta Non Grata's histrionics won't make a difference. Nothing will make a difference! "Don't worry, the planet will go on just fine as it always has been - but we're screwed!"...

The last FUTER