Bob Livingston discusses what to do about hyper-inflation:
Bob Livingston Alerts
Financially, it seems as if the end is near. Economic Armageddon is upon us, as the Federal government lubricates the moving parts on the printing presses and new money begins to fly out.
In his special report, Shadow Government Statistics: Analysis Behind and Beyond Government Economic Reporting, John Williams wrote,
The U.S. economy is in an intensifying inflationary recession that eventually will evolve into a hyperinflationary great depression. Hyperinflation could be experienced as early as 2010, if not before, and likely no more than a decade down the road. The U.S. government and Federal Reserve already have committed the system to this course through the easy politics of a bottomless pocketbook, the servicing of big-money special interests, and gross mismanagement.
It is now a decade down the road, and this was written before the U.S. Congress passed and President Barack Obama and subsequently Donald Trump and now Joe Biden signed their multi-trillion-dollar economic stimulus bills into effect.
The amount of money being spent is unprecedented in human history.
So what will the enormous spending program do? It will push simple inflation (a continuing rise in prices due to an increased volume of money and credit relative to available goods and services) into hyperinflation.
That's because fiat money implies by its definition that it self-destructs through depreciation (inflation). Anything that can be created to infinity with political incentive eventually becomes worthless. There are no exceptions. For paper money to work, its issue must be equal to the production of goods and services.
Does anyone think that is the case today? Dream on, if you do.
There is plenty of historical precedent for prolificacy of money creation bringing hyperinflationary chaos which then collapses into depression. The stark reality is that the public has no clue until a collapse arrives and completely destroys their assets and their lives.
A currency collapse is progressing every day with each new dollar that is printed. Now is the time to realize it, rather than later when chaos reigns and everyone is trying to survive at the same time.
We can't have wide open money printing and have a viable and strong currency at the same time. Again I would say dream on if you think so.
So, what are our predictions? Long-dated Treasury's will show huge losses when interest rates begin to rise. In time, Treasury securities will reach "junk status," and in the long term all U.S. debt will become junk. This outcome is near.
You may ask, "But Bob, why would the Federal government leave us vulnerable to such a dreadful occurrence as a spiraling crescendo of hyperinflation?"
Does greed, corruption and general cluelessness sound like a good enough reason?
Even at this time, Treasury's pay less than the rate of official inflation, never mind the unofficial inflation numbers. Millions of retired people are now experiencing a lower standard of living.
The same is true with certificates of deposit, which pay an interest rate less than the rate of inflation. In other words, if you have your money stashed in what you believe is a safe return CD, you are losing money every day.
Though most are oblivious, U.S. dollar savers are being routed. Savings accounts are paying interest rates less than the devaluation of the dollar. This U.S. dollar crash syndrome is an autoimmune disease where people (the rich and the poor) are impoverished because they were thrifty and saved.
But saving your money by putting it under the mattress is no good either. As the value of the dollar shrinks so does the value of your savings.
With depreciating currency comes rising prices. Depreciating currency brings a lower standard of living and equally a permanent loss of asset values. Look to Venezuela as a current example. And Zimbabwe before that. In December 2008, inflation was over a trillion percent and the economy had been "dollarized," signifying that local currency was virtually unacceptable as legal tender. But Zimbabwe is not the only modern example of an economy ruined by government overspending. In fact, there are many other examples:
Turkey, 2007 — Turkey has suffered from chronic inflation for decades. In 1980, one U.S. dollar was worth 90 Turkish lira. By 2004, a U.S. dollar was worth 1.3 million Turkish lira. As a result, in 2007 the government simply declared a revaluation of the Turkish lira. One million Turkish lira would, from then on, be worth only 1 lira.
Romania, 2005 — In 1998, the highest denomination in Romania was 100,000 lei. By 2005 the highest had become 1 million lei. The Romanian government then devalued its currency, declaring that one new leu would be worth 10,000 lei.
Argentina, 2001 — Overspending by the Argentine government resulted in massive inflation in the 1980s and '90s. By 1992, one new peso was worth 100 billion pre-1983 pesos. (Because the old peso had been devalued so much, if Argentines had stuffed their pesos under the mattress in 1982 they would have ended up with nothing.)
Russia, 1994 — Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the new Russia saw annual inflation as high as 2,500 percent in 1992. By 1994 it had dropped to 850 percent because of a tightening of monetary policy and the failure to pay wages to workers in state enterprises, a policy that kept prices low by depressing demand. The value of the ruble declined from 40 rubles to the dollar in 1991 to 30,000 rubles to the dollar by 1999.
If the annual cost of living increases just 5 percent or 6 percent, the purchasing power of money will rapidly vanish. And because of negative real interest rates, consumer price inflation will accelerate, a fact not known by the public. The real spending power of households whose income depends on fixed interest instruments will be cut, reducing their standard of living.
For example, in 1933 the Consumer Price Index (the price of a basket of common goods purchased by the average consumer) was 12.8. In 2008 the CPI was 225. In other words, that same basket of goods has increased from just under $13 to $225. Currently, it's 271, and that's without goods and services that actually price inflate — because they have been taken out of the CPI. Who knows what it would actually be, comparatively speaking.
But it would be high, as anyone who has gone to the grocery store or to buy gas has figured out. Once again, inflation is starting to outpace economic predictions.
As prices rise and the lower classes find it increasingly more difficult to buy necessities, O'Bidenomics will increase taxes on the producers and savers even more, hoping to spread the wealth around. As the spending kicks in, the formerly profligate-spending conservatives will claim to have had an epiphany. They will kick and scream at the thought of running up more debt than they already have caused. But that's a farce.
We are still trying to understand America in terms of capitalism and free enterprise, when in fact America is now a socialist country with a pretty face called democracy.
All fiat systems in history have been in socialist states, no matter the national pretense, as in our term, democracy. Socialist states have a history of suppressing their own people. And all socialist fiat money states/countries transfer wealth and production to the state without payment. Of course, as in America today, this transfer takes place via the depreciation of paper money. The owner of the money printing press owns and controls all wealth and production.
How to prepare
You don't have to just sit by and do nothing. There are simple, easy, inexpensive steps you can take right now to protect your family.
I've prepared a 21st-century survival guide called the Ultimate Hyperinflation Defense Manual that I believe can help you prepare for the worst financial threats America now faces.
This manual is chock-full of proven strategies, techniques and information that can make all the difference during the financial emergency that is inflation, or hyperinflation. In fact, my newly-updated and revised Ultimate Hyperinflation Defense Manual can make your life better even if, God willing, we sidestep some of the economic catastrophes that I fear are coming.
That's because the steps you take now to prepare for some of these possible disasters will end up making you financially stronger... more independent... and more self-reliant than you are now.
You won't find this privately printed dossier in stores. I've developed it exclusively for my extended family of readers, and I've packed it with practical, real-world strategies for coping with a financial catastrophe.
Let me give you some examples:
In addition to physical gold and silver, look to invest in companies that mine the metals. Stock in these companies, as well as those that are involved in the extreme push for green energy, which will have an effect on demand for old-fashioned fossil fuel-reliant systems and processes — especially chip makers — are good bets.
Consider buying stocks in foreign countries. However, remember that while China is still growing, it is cracking down relentlessly on different sectors, and those stocks are losing 25-50 percent of their value in a day and may never recover. India is still a growing economy in an otherwise dismal global market.
If you are getting into foreign stocks, be sure you find a broker that specializes in foreign stocks. There are a few in the U.S. When you think you've found one make sure it's not one that trades through domestic market makers through so-called Pink Sheets, which can cost you money.
There are some blue-chip stocks that are great hedge plays against inflation. These are large companies, foreign-owned, that pay dividends and produce products that are not only popular with Americans, but around the world.
If you do decide to invest in the stock market, be sure you take delivery of your stock certificates. Don't leave them in the hands of the brokerage house.
Although most investment advisors recommend government bonds as a conservative investment and inflation hedge, we have slightly different advice, as well as a different outlook on the keys to investing and the preservation of wealth during hyperinflationary times.
One of the most important lessons to take away from former financial crises is that you need to do careful planning for your own survival during the tough financial times that are ahead. We are facing an imminent era of hyperinflation and these steps and more, in addition to everything you need to know about buying and safely storing gold and silver, are included in my special report The Ultimate Hyperinflation Defense Manual.
For years now, we've been reporting on health, investment and personal survival strategies the government hopes you'll never hear about. It's a point of view that is fiercely independent and is focused solely on your individual well-being. That's why if you want even more advice, wealth-building strategies and dozens of ideas to protect yourself from what is happening to our economy right now, I urge you to take a moment and visit this page.
I will help you get your assets out of paper money and convert them to real, physical assets. I'm convinced that you can protect yourself and even increase your wealth over the next several years as the government depreciates the value of the U.S. dollar... inflation goes through the roof... and the price of gold continues to skyrocket. So please go here now! Times of great economic upheaval present rare opportunities to make life-altering decisions not possible at any other time!
Yours for the truth,
Bob Livingston
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Iranian's nuclear efforts have gone from dragging to accelerating notwithstanding, Israel's efforts.
As Hopes for Nuclear Deal Fade, Iran Rebuilds and Risks Grow
With Iran’s new administration preparing for its first international nuclear negotiations, there are signs that there will be no going back to the 2015 agreement.
By David E. Sanger, Steven Erlanger, Farnaz Fassihi and Lara Jakes, NYT
For the first time since President Ebrahim Raisi took office in August, Iranian negotiators plan to meet with their European, Chinese and Russian counterparts to discuss the future of a nuclear agreement. by Vahid Salemi/
WASHINGTON — Over the past 20 months, Israeli intelligence operatives have assassinated Iran’s chief nuclear scientist and triggered major explosions at four Iranian nuclear and missile facilities, hoping to cripple the centrifuges that produce nuclear fuel and delay the day when Tehran’s new government might be able to build a bomb.
But American intelligence officials and international inspectors say the Iranians have quickly gotten the facilities back online — often installing newer machines that can enrich uranium at a far more rapid pace. When a plant that made key centrifuge parts suffered what looked like a crippling explosion in late spring — destroying much of the parts inventory and the cameras and sensors installed by international inspectors — production resumed by late summer.
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US warns Israel its attacks on Iran nuclear program are counterproductive — NYT
Despite killing of nuclear scientist and blasts at enrichment facilities, Iran building faster, more efficient nuke program; potentially just a few weeks from ‘breakout’ to bomb
By TOI STAFF
US officials have warned Israel that its attacks against the Iranian nuclear program are counterproductive and have enabled Tehran to rebuild an even more efficient enrichment system, the New York Times reported Sunday.
Citing officials familiar with the behind-the-scenes discussion between Washington and Jerusalem, as the US continues to try and bring Iran back into the nuclear deal, the report said that Israeli officials have dismissed the warnings, saying they have “no intention of letting up.”
AND:
US warns Israel: Stop striking Iranian nuclear sites
American officials prefer a diplomatic route to curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
By Donna Rachel Edmunds, World Israel News
The Biden administration has attempted to warn Israel against attacking Iran’s nuclear sites, insisting that such action is “counterproductive.”
Israel has dismissed the warning, saying it will continue working to prevent Tehran from achieving nuclear capability.
What action to take against Iran’s nuclear program is becoming a point of contention between Jerusalem and Washington.
With the Iran threat so close to home, Israel is taking the more direct approach. In the last 20 months Israeli intelligence has assassinated Iran’s chief nuclear scientist and set off major explosions at four key Iranian nuclear sites, hoping to destroy centrifuges and set back Iran’s nuclear timeline.
The Biden administration prefers the diplomatic route. American intelligence officials have even gone so far as to warn their Israeli counterparts against direct action, which they claim helps rather than hinders Iran’s nuclear capabilities, the New York Times has reported.
According to the report, one of the facilities set up to manufacture key centrifuge parts took what was thought to be a crippling blow in late spring, destroying inventory as well as cameras and sensors that allow international inspectors to supervise the work. But by late summer the facility was up and running again with improved machinery.
In an indication of how widespread the re-building has been, an American official is said to have dubbed the upgrade of the facilities Tehran’s Build Back Better plan. U.S. agents consequently reportedly advised their Israeli counterparts that though the action is “tactically satisfying,” it is “ultimately counterproductive” and may have the effect of speeding up Iran’s nuclear program.
However, the failure of diplomats to secure a new nuclear deal earlier this year appears to have emboldened Iran, which has stopped referring to the talks as nuclear negotiations.
During his presidency, Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran deal. Iran also exited the deal shortly thereafter, some three years ago. President Biden had hoped to revive the deal in his first year, using it as a platform to build something “longer and stronger.”
Talks in Vienna in the first half of the year are said to have gone well, with U.S. officials optimistic that a deal could be done when the talks paused in June to allow Iran to hold elections. But Iranian officials showed no urgency to return to the talks following that election, now set to take place at the end of the month.
Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s newly appointed chief nuclear negotiator and a deputy foreign minister has stopped referring to them as nuclear talks at all. In Paris last week, he said “We have no such thing as nuclear negotiations.” Instead he said the talks were “negotiations to remove unlawful and inhuman sanctions.”
On Sunday, Israeli and U.S. officials made their counter positions clear, during a conference in Bahrain.
Israel’s National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata reiterated on Israel’s commitment to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, saying that Iran “will not agree to concede [power] just because we ask them nicely.”
He added: “Those who claim that pressure does not work need to re-examine the previous rounds of pressure put on Iran by the two previous administrations. They are what helped change Iran’s policies. We believe that Iran won’t change its policy unless we force it to.”
His comments were countered by America’s National Security Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, Brett McGurk, who said that the pressure put on Iran during the Trump administration in the form of sanctions failed and that the current administration “is not delusional” that any more pressure will change Iran’s behavior.
Robert Malley, the State Department’s Iran envoy recently said that Mr. Biden and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken “have both said if diplomacy fails, we have other tools — and we will use other tools to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.”
It is not yet clear what these might be.
Tobias Siegal contributed to this report.
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Wait til he get's home:
The rioters who stole luxury items were predominantly black and also no mass media commentary .
These incidents occurred in Democrat controlled cities where efforts to defund police had taken place.
Over the weekend there were more killings in Chicago and a surge in wounded. Again, a major city controlled by Democrats. The pattern is obvious and should be disturbing.
Why did the mass media avoid this fact? I do not know but assume it would make defending their criminal actions more difficult to excuse. If black lives matter does white merchant's merchandise have no value? Do white people celebrating Christmas have no worth so running them over is acceptable?
Based on the reactions of liberals compared with the way they behaved regarding Rittenhouse, who legally defended himself, the difference is stark.. Why? Does the mass media even care their hypocrisy shows?
Liberals and progressive policies helped destroy America's family unit, the mass media is no longer trusted and makes no pretense about performing a job worthy of their overpaid status. Progressive efforts to destroy education have become common place. Rioting and destruction of property no longer seems to concern Democrats who run major cities. Has the decline in law and order become an acceptable fact? What follows? What will it take to reverse course? Is it even a rational option to think that it can be?
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