Egon von Greyerz of Swiss based Matterhorn Asset Management says Alea Iacta Est, the die has been cast. Regardless of what governments do going forward, a number of different events will play out as the economic, social and political systems around the world come under intense pressure.
It’s not a question of if the world order is about to be reorganized, but rather, a question of how severe the transition will be:
Yes this is it! We have crossed the Rubicon and events in the world economy are now likely to unfold in a totally uncontrollable fashion. Clueless governments still don’t understand that it is their ruinous actions that have created a credit infested and bankrupt world. They will continue to prescribe the same remedy that caused the problem in the first place, namely more credit and more printed money. The consequences are clear; we will have hyperinflation, economic and human misery as well as social unrest.
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Because the world economy’s expansion in the last 100 years and particularly in the last 40 years has been primarily based on credit and not real growth, governments live under the false impression that money printing will work this time too. But we have reached the point when investors will no longer buy worthless government debt that will never be repaid with real money. We will first go through a period when governments issue and buy their own debt thus monetising the debt or print money.  This will be the hyperinflationary phase. Thereafter the world will realise that none of the government debt and very little of the bank debt will ever be repaid. Credit will then implode and so will also the assets financed by credit. Eventually there will be a new monetary and financial system and the world will start afresh. The adjustment period will be very long and will involve economic and human misery, leading to social unrest and major political change. It will be a horrible experience for the world during this extended period of adjustment. But it will be like a forest fire that clears out the deadwood and creates the conditions for strong new growth. Once the new era starts it will therefore be from a very much lower level and individuals will be rewarded for hard work with little or no social security safety net. Credit will only be granted for sound capital investment projects, not for consumption or speculation. Ethical and moral values will return and the golden calf will not be worshipped. But before that, the period of readjustment will be very long and extremely difficult for the whole world.
Unless you have a multi-year supply of freeze dried food, dry goods and are completely isolated in the boonies, you’d better start thinking about how to survive in the new paradigm. Long-term, sustainable living that includes not just emergency supplies, but developing useful skills, and maintaining a stream of income/revenue (be it monetary or tangible goods) that will be there if the crunch happens. Think about food production, energy production, goods manufacturing (carpentry, welding, etc.) and direct trade, or bartering, as your “job” if the end of life as we currently know it actually happens.
We are in uncharted waters here. Never before has there been as big a debt bubble and global economic calamity as we have today. Past models can only guess at what is in store, so start thinking outside the box about the many possibilities that may await.
Hat tip Willie Wonka
Good post, Mac – like the one about Geithner.
What is unfolding is a PLAN.
A plan has PLANNERS!
The planners have an OBJECTIVE and a MOTIVE.
Give up?
SEE my Blog for the answers.
Does “Die” have a double meaning???
I’d love some feedback from the readers of this article. Im in the advertising business and there certainly won’t be a need for a bunch of bull shit ads when the big toilet flush happens. I’ve been thinking about taking the training to become an EMT- emergency medical technician. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery if this will be a good occupation for the future? Will be need experienced emergency medical help?
J-Boy, my wife is getting ready to take EMT training as well. She is a social worker in her former life, been raising kids for the last 8 years, and is looking to add to her skill set.
Since we’re “preppers” we figured building skills related to what may be needed on a familial/community level might be of benefit. If the system does seriously melt down at some point in the future, we’ll at least have someone who is trained in emergency medical response, which will be invaluable.
If we’re wrong, and we hope we are, and the system gets back to normal , she has the added benefit of having training in an industry that can only grow. Of course, new health care mandates may restrict actual growth of the industry to cut costs. But, I think EMT training is as good a skill as any to learn for a number of reasons.
I do think that there will still be advertising, but it will become much more difficult because of so many business failures.
One thing you might also consider is combining your advertising skills with some sort of online project that can help to set up a secondary revenue stream in the event you lose your primary. Just thinking out loud on that one..
I have to feel sorry for all  living  in big cities….that’s where the shtf.
Just don’t move to Missouri…..you won’t like it here! Â lol
 Reply to the jobs in EMS. It is very hard to obtain a job as an EMT in larger cities. Fire Dept based EMS is almost impossible due to recent layoffs or freezes around the country. Smaller or private transport companies are still hiring some what.
Medical care in a hospital setting or assisted living is a better oppertunity. But as the author stated . It is good to know, to pocess the skills that may save a life someday.  Thanks
Mac & J-Boy,
Something y’all are not considering is that EMTs as we know them depend upon the availability of all sorts of high tech goodies, high tech hospitals, electronic communication, electric power, and petroleum. WTSHTF, that is, when people stop taking the government’s money, those things will likely be in short supply. Most people who need emergency care will simply die. Many people will die of infections for lack of antibiotics, and many will simply starve. It certainly wouldn’t hurt anyone to learn some anatomy, physiology, and basic first aid, but much of today’s EMT training, focused as it is on transporting the sick and injured to a high tech medical facility, would prove useless WTSHTF.
I submit that the most important skill will be food production, the old-fashioined way, without tractors, hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers, and fancy meds for your livestock. A good many of today’s industrial farmers buy their food in grocery stores, and will be in no better position than the average city boy. (This implies that looters could be as much of a problem in the country as in the city.) A much higher fraction of the surviving population will be engaged in food production, as in pre-industrial times. Many might be tenants rather than landowners. Acquiring one’s own land on which to produce food would be infinitely preferable to serfdom. Whether the acquisition will be easier before or after the die-off is an individual decision.
Yeah I don’t think we have much time left. When I told all my friends and family to pull out of the market 5 weeks ago the thought I was nuts. Now their asking me how I knew. My answer is how can you not have known, look around. I went all out on 04/23/2010 as of today the DJIA has lost 1136 points. I don’t think this is a double dip, but the beginning of the abyss. Good luck ladies and gentleman, God Bless.
Patriot One:
You are correct about the ABYSS – BUT there is more to know, especially what to do about it. The answer is NOT loading up on weapons, ammo, water and food and heading for the woods. There is NO EXIT to escape what’s coming, but there is a DOOR through which anyone can escape the worst of it.
Visit my website and Blog and study them thoroughly – including the MANY links.
JUST DO IT!
A visit to your blog Godsend convinced me that you are a Satanic nut job.
Racist morons like you are the reason this country has fallen out of favor with GOD. Your Jew God Jesus will surely let you spend eternity in HELL.
Forgive me my Zionist Jew Jesus Lord, for I have sinned. Please don’t send me to Hell. I will give up my homosexual pornography addiction. I promise.
Sorry Godsend
My Bible tells me Isreal and the Jews are God’s choosen people. That’s good enough for me, who am I to question God. Since you like to hang around this site I would say you are ready to repent and make Jesus the lord of your life. I do wish you well and I’ll pray for you, I’m sure many others here will too. I hope you find the peace of salvation and free yourself from the hate. God loves you no matter what.
This is what the Bible says about the Jews (among many other uncomplimentary remarks made by Jesus the Christ):
“I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the Synagogue of Satan.”
Besides that, Jesus REPUDIATED Judaism.
To top it all off, the Jews sent Jesus the Christ to the Cross and invoked a blood curse on themselves and their descendants. They still loathe and blaspheme Him – the Son of God – TODAY!
Patriot One, you need a new Bible or some Reading Comprehension lessons.
I don’t believe that “our owners” want complete anarchy as that would throw them out of power,There will no doubt be an economic collapse with some new currency but it will come with a swift enactment of martial law/controls on food distribution to keep us dependent on them.
Only a fool thinks that there haven’t been careful,thorough plans laid in advance of some collapse so as to maintain their control.
I still have a water well,food,propane,oil lamps,guns & ammo,but I can only imagine that we will be in some form of tyranny that will most likely attempt to confiscate our stores of all the items that we have so carfeully collected.
Good luck confiscating this former Marine’s guns and depriving me of the tools that keep me free from becoming a slave or victim of the state.
The last century saw the deaths of 100 million by their own government ,who thinks the next will be any different?
Godsend, Jesus was born a Jew and died a Jew. It is you who have the wrong Bible. He is coming back to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, not the city that your Muslim savages want to nuke. His disciples were Jews. Jesus was a RABBI. He had a BarMizvah. He was CIRCUMCISED.
Your blog is a complete lie and distortion of the TRUTH. I see not ONE comment on your blog. That is because you come across as a ranting lunatic. Where does this hate come from? Sexual abuse? Abandonment? It doesn’t matter. Your hate will never fufill your utter despair. It will never allow you to have a loving relationship with another person. Your hate goes against all that Jesus preached. As Patriot One says until you repent and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior you will continue to live in misery and despair that hate cannot cure.
The word speakes for it self. If you choose to take it out of context its very easy to do. You can use it to devide or unite. I choose to unite!! There are only two sides, Good and Evil.
Father John:
I read one of your previous comments and expected you to resurface from the depths of ignorance and/or deception – and here you are. This is not the place to get into extended discussions on matters of faith and religion, so this will be my last reply to you:
A giant among mature men of Christian spirituality, Theodore Austin-Sparks, left a huge legacy of inspired interpreted Holy Scripture, confirmed by an exemplary human life. It is available on the Web and there are many links to it on my website. You should read it!
One of TAS’s conclusions and one of the very clear and fundamental facts about Jesus and His teachings is that He REPUDIATED Judaism – and offered Himself as both, the fulfillment and embodiment of God the Father’s will and thought, BEYOND the OT. That is as fundamental as true Christianity gets! Among many other, NEGATIVE comments He made about the Jews and Judaism, He said that circumcision means NOTHING.
Notice the little word “was” in all your comments. It denotes a prior state and is very different from that other little word “IS”.
Your second, slanderous paragraph does not merit any reply.
Hey godsend….can we send you back?
Hey, Mac – what’s with this BS: “Your comment is awaiting moderation” ?
Johnny Rotten, eh?! Exactly how rotten are you? (You can’t afford the postage to send me back – and who is “Weâ€? Are you related to “We the commentersâ€?). However, if y’all click on the DONATE button on my website and deposit $1 each, totaling $1,000,000, I might consider shaking the dust off my shoes.
In the meantime, cut out the rotten parts and see if anything is left.