It seems to me that many people are awfully complacent right now. There are many out there who are aware that the economy is falling apart and that the speed is increasing but there are far too few who appear to be taking meaningful actions to combat what appears to be coming our way. It is no surprise that many are in the dark because they watch the mainstream media and are being fed propaganda day after day to keep them unaware of the real challenges we are facing. Most of the important stories get buried- if they get reported on at all- and a lot of stories are reported with “spin” so it is presented in a way, that you have a certain reaction. In many cases words are used to confuse or even change the meaning of an event. Also, in many cases, anyone who dares to challenge the “official” narrative is shut down and silenced. This sounds an awful lot like the old Soviet Union or Nazi Germany to me.
The sad part is our country, in my opinion, could be on the path of either one of these former countries. In the case of the Soviets, they had central planners just like us. They were massaging the numbers to report just how “well” the economy was doing right up to the collapse. In the old Soviet Union things were going so well that crops died in the fields, drug and alcohol use became rampant (probably because of the economic malaise) and people lost hope. It appears many of our major cities are experiencing many of the problems that are associated with societal decay and economic malaise just like the old Soviet Union. Many of the same traits are also showing up- dependence on government for the necessities of life rather than working for it and a general sense of helplessness that leads to drug and alcohol abuse for many.
In the case of Nazi Germany they were fighting a war on two fronts. We appear to be fighting wars on multiple fronts. Most of our “fighting” is being done in the financial sphere or with proxies like Ukraine, Syria, etc. but make no mistake there is a cost for all of this belligerence. If we were actually to get into a shooting war I am afraid we could only win by going nuclear for many reasons. Number one is that most of the world is aligning against the USA/Europe/Australia. Most of the world is following China and Russia’s lead and are trying to promote trade instead of war. In Africa they are realizing that they have options now as opposed to having terms dictated to them by the West. The main reason this is so important is that it would be those we are fighting against that produce most of our goods and supply a lot of the critical minerals we would need to produce weapons. Not only that but they have the infrastructure to support a war where we do not. In either case- economic meltdown or war things would not be in our favor.
Unfortunately, as we can clearly see, even though it is likely that NOBODY wins in WW3 it appears that there is a small group of neocons who are pushing us closer and closer to a real problem. Ukraine is just one example.
My take on this is that the collective West is trying to retain the advantages that have allowed them to conjure up cash out of nowhere and get wealthy while keeping the producers of real goods suppressed at least and in abject poverty at worst.
I saw a video of a Lithium mine where thousands were digging in the hillside in Africa- many were children. (Redacted)
The rest of the world- mainly Africa, Latin America and commodity producers are waking up and are now demanding that there be a level playing field. It is starting with these countries trading amongst themselves without the US dollar as the middle man. There is also a movement in many places where unions in countries like Peru are going on strike for higher wages. Countries are demanding that their mineral wealth stay in the country and that factories be built THERE so the population can benefit from jobs that have previously been exported to the west. Basically, the commodity producers gave up their hard assets for paper payment and those “in charge” would build factories in Europe and the USA and make goods- increasing the value of the commodities- and get wealthy while the producers bought goods with the currency they received.
Of course, now that the purchasing power of paper currencies are collapsing everywhere and those countries that have been exporting their wealth- many for centuries- are demanding to be paid with other hard assets. I have written extensively about this when I wrote about BRICS, SCO, ASEAN and other multi-national organizations that are setting up an alternative universe to the USA/Euro plan.
As a matter of fact, the next BRICS meeting is in August and the list of the countries that are attending is growing day by day. It appears that the China/Russia alliance has emboldened the rest of the planet to confront the west. As a matter of fact, there may even be fissures forming IN the west as FRANCE has asked to be invited to the BRICS meeting in South Africa in August. Add them to the list of countries like Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Pakistan, Indonesia, UAE, Saudi Arabia and many others. It is reported that 70% of the world’s population is looking to join with BRICS and shun the west. This was PRIOR to France’s announcement. (Zerohedge)
Personally, I am not really buying the idea that France wants in. Macron is a true globalist and just like in the godfather movies- you keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It could be they want a seat to see just how this may play out. Of course, they could then determine whether to join and get a life raft before the western ship sinks.
You may be wondering why I am so sure the BRICS will win economically. It is really simple. They produce hard assets. They produce the necessities of life. We produce debt and inflation. The days when we produced real goods have passed us by. The corporations have hollowed out our economy by offshoring jobs to get cheaper wages and have become financial institutions in many cases rather than a concern that produces real tangible wealth. Instead of investing in assets that would grow the company over time those “in charge” would rather buy back shares to goose the stock price up so their bonuses are higher. In addition, many of these companies have been purchasing their shares that are near historical highs, which impairs the balance sheet even more. This helps the shareholders to some degree- nowhere near how it helps those in the C-suites- but it undermines the company going forward and could have a negative impact on people’s livelihoods going forward- as we are seeing right now.
We have to always keep in mind that we are living on a planet with FINITE resources and those “in charge” would have you believe that you can “print” in UNLIMITED amounts and get whatever outcome you may desire. This is obviously a fallacy and will be proven soon in my opinion. Already the chinks in the armor are showing as we are conjuring up cash to pretend, we are still vibrant and solvent when all the facts point to the opposite being true. You can’t be vibrant with the lowest money velocity ever recorded being 2022 and now is only slightly higher (this is a measure of how fast money changes hands in the economy The higher the turnover of cash indicates how much economic activity is taking place) and you have to conjure up cash to pay current bills, retire maturing debt and fund all sorts of off-balance sheet items like wars, etc.
Don’t kid yourselves- those who are producing real goods will have a large advantage over the money-printers when resources become scarce in relation to all the “money” sloshing around. This should give you a roadmap of what assets may outperform going forward. My opinion is hard assets, precious metals, energy, and quality companies that produce the necessities of life like food, water, etc. Things are changing and the pace is picking up.
Be Prepared!
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