Community | August 16, 2010 | 83 comments

Without a Revolution, Americans Are History

source: http://shadowstats.com

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Dagum
The United States is running out of time to get its budget and trade deficits under control. Despite the urgency of the situation, 2010 has been wasted in hype about a non-existent recovery. As recently as August 2 Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner penned a New York Times column, “Welcome to the Recovery."


As John Williams (shadowstats.com) has made clear on many occasions, an appearance of recovery was created by over-counting employment and undercounting inflation. Warnings by Williams, Gerald Celente, and myself have gone unheeded, but our warnings recently had echoes from Boston University professor Laurence Kotlikoff and from David Stockman, who excoriated the Republican Party for becoming big-spending Democrats.

It is encouraging to see some realization that, this time, Washington cannot spend the economy out of recession. The deficits are already too large for the dollar to survive as reserve currency, and deficit spending cannot put Americans back to work in jobs that have been moved offshore.

However, the solutions offered by those who are beginning to recognize that there is a problem are discouraging. Kotlikoff thinks the solution is savage Social Security and Medicare cuts or equally savage tax increases or hyperinflation to destroy the vast debts.

Perhaps economists lack imagination, or perhaps they don’t want to be cut off from Wall Street and corporate subsidies, but Social Security and Medicare are insufficient at their present levels, especially considering the erosion of private pensions by the dot com, derivative and real estate bubbles. Cuts in Social Security and Medicare, for which people have paid 15 per cent of their earnings all their lives, would result in starvation and deaths from curable diseases.

Tax increases make even less sense. It is widely acknowledged that the majority of households cannot survive on one job. Both husband and wife work and often one of the partners has two jobs in order to make ends meet. Raising taxes makes it harder to make ends meet–thus more foreclosures, more food stamps, more homelessness. What kind of economist or humane person thinks this is a solution?

Ah, but we will tax the rich. The rich have enough money. They will simply stop earning.

Let’s get real. Here is what the government is likely to do. Once Washington realize that the dollar is at risk and that they can no longer finance their wars by borrowing abroad, the government will either levy a tax on private pensions on the grounds that the pensions have accumulated tax-deferred, or the government will require pension fund managers to purchase Treasury debt with our pensions. This will buy the government a bit more time while pension accounts are loaded up with worthless paper.

The last Bush budget deficit (2008) was in the $400-500 billion range, about the size of the Chinese, Japanese, and OPEC trade surpluses with the US. Traditionally, these trade surpluses have been recycled to the US and finance the federal budget deficit. In 2009 and 2010 the federal deficit jumped to $1,400 billion, a back-to-back trillion dollar increase. There are not sufficient trade surpluses to finance a deficit this large. From where comes the money?

The answer is from individuals fleeing the stock market into “safe” Treasury bonds and from the bankster bailout, not so much the TARP money as the Federal Reserve’s exchange of bank reserves for questionable financial paper such as subprime derivatives. The banks used their excess reserves to purchase Treasury debt.

These financing maneuvers are one-time tricks. Once people have fled stocks, that movement into Treasuries is over. The opposition to the bankster bailout likely precludes another. So where does the money come from the next time?


The Treasury was able to unload a lot of debt thanks to “the Greek crisis,” which the New York banksters and hedge funds multiplied into “the euro crisis.” The financial press served as a financing arm for the US Treasury by creating panic about European debt and the euro. Central banks and individuals who had taken refuge from the dollar in euros were panicked out of their euros, and they rushed into dollars by purchasing US Treasury debt.

This movement from euros to dollars weakened the alternative reserve currency to the dollar, halted the dollar’s decline, and financed the US budget deficit a while longer.

Possibly the game can be replayed with Spanish debt, Irish debt, and whatever unlucky country is eswept in by the thoughtless expansion of the European Union.

But when no countries remain that can be destabilized by Wall Street investment banksters and hedge funds, what then finances the US budget deficit?

The only remaining financier is the Federal Reserve. When Treasury bonds brought to auction do not sell, the Federal Reserve must purchase them. The Federal Reserve purchases the bonds by creating new demand deposits, or checking accounts, for the Treasury. As the Treasury spends the proceeds of the new debt sales, the US money supply expands by the amount of the Federal Reserve’s purchase of Treasury debt.

Do goods and services expand by the same amount? Imports will increase as US jobs have been offshored and given to foreigners, thus worsening the trade deficit. When the Federal Reserve purchases the Treasury’s new debt issues, the money supply will increase by more than the supply of domestically produced goods and services. Prices are likely to rise.

How high will they rise? The longer money is created in order that government can pay its bills, the more likely hyperinflation will be the result.

The economy has not recovered. By the end of this year it will be obvious that the collapsing economy means a larger than $1.4 trillion budget deficit to finance. Will it be $2 trillion? Higher?

Whatever the size, the rest of the world will see that the dollar is being printed in such quantities that it cannot serve as reserve currency. At that point wholesale dumping of dollars will result as foreign central banks try to unload a worthless currency.

Continued at: http://www.prisonplanet.com/without-a-revolution-americans-are-history.html
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83 comments // Without a Revolution, Americans Are History

  • NaranjaCabeza
  • QuestionGeek
    • +2
      QuestionGeek  

    • I think this article is correct to a degree. But it seem to lean too much to the propaganda and over-the-top genre. Because of our terrible education system and crappy over processed food we eat. In the future it won't be difficult for other countries to out compete us. If you ask me, they already do out compete us in many areas. e.g. I'd rather have the German made dishwasher instead of a Whirlpool dishwasher any day. No contest. We used to graduate many more mathmeticians than we ever do now. They serve fast food in grade schools now. People are brainwashed into thinking sucralose and aspartame are completely harmless to consume.

    • 1 year ago
  • Kaveh_Kompani
    • 0
      Kaveh_Kompani  

    • We dont need a revolution all we need is for Democrats and Republicans to work together....If that doesn't happen maybe a new third party

    • 1 year ago
  • unimatrix0
  • blaino
  • jubal
    • 0
      jubal  
    • blaino:

      A peaceful revolution is to stop the flow of money. A coordinated effort would bring the economy to its knees and then the politicians would start listening.

    • 1 year ago
  • alexandrek
  • blaino
    • 0
      blaino  
    • alexandrek:

      I suppose you think we should do nothing then? Or you want a bloody revolution?

      Neither would be good in the long run. Do nothing and nothing will change. Fight fire with fire and we will only continue this mindless cycle we've been stuck in since before the dark ages.

      Peaceful revolt would be the only way for positive change. Will they lash out, sure but it would be worth it. Think if the civil rights activists gave up because they were being beaten or killed. Society would still be segregated.

      A peaceful revolution requires courage and the resolution that what you are doing is right and good for all.

    • 1 year ago
  • oppressed1
  • bostongeorge
    • 0
      bostongeorge  
    • oppressed1:

      we wouldn't need one if everyone voted for what's right and not for who ever their party is rooting for.

      just saying that the majority of this country is sheltered due to their own ignorance.People just do not like researching all the candidates and reasons behind the bills.

      don't forget most of america is filled with die hard Christians who only vote in favor of religious morals.

    • 1 year ago
  • oppressed1
    • +1
      oppressed1  
    • bostongeorge:

      I think they have taken all the weapons so when it finally boils over, and there is no other reason than to fight people wont have the resourses to say enough. I mean FT Hood Alone as over 100k soldiers with more than 100k weapons air cav, tanks etc etc. The unrest wouldnt last long.

    • 1 year ago
  • jubal
  • im1mjrpain
  • jubal
    • +2
      jubal  

    • This post is practically a call to arms against the United States...Think about what you people are saying. Much can be accomplished if we all ban together and bring the wheels of capitalism to a grinding halt. That is the revolution we need...not guns and war. That will never work because they are more powerful..But what they can't force us to do is spend money and keep the money flowing. All they can do is entice us to spend with all their advertising and subliminal crap.

    • 1 year ago
  • im1mjrpain
  • QuestionGeek
    • 0
      QuestionGeek  
    • jubal:

      Jubal, and you think spoiled brat Americans are going to agree with doing that? Yea, good luck with that. We think consumption is the root of happiness, when nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone who has visited Europe knows that.

    • 1 year ago
  • jubal
    • 0
      jubal  
    • QuestionGeek:

      My idea is a good one and I will keep trying to educate people as to the real evil and villains and how they are participating in making them more powerful by spending money on their crap.

    • 1 year ago
  • derk
    • +2
      derk  

    • I find it funny that the people that always want a revolution simultaneously want to turn the clock backwards.

    • 1 year ago
  • jubal
  • tommytripper
    • 0
      tommytripper  

    • sadly this will not happen, it is not that it is not needed, its just not going to happen.

      in general people are to dumbed down or to scared to lose what they have. last time it was only about 10-15% of the people that pushed out the British, everyone else was hiding under their kitchen tables scared.

      should we fault people for their fear? or how about faulting them for a failed education system that has left them dumbed down and almost to stupid to function. then there is the system of entertainment pushing ideas into their empty skulls of how and who they should be. ever wonder why we do not call people an individual but rather have this social habit of calling them, suits, goths, punks, squares, preps, hippies, hoods, gangstars and the list rolls on. but really are doing each other a service by placing labels on each other simply to build a frame work of self awareness or an awareness to how we should interact with people. or are we better off calling them a fellow individual expressing themselves in that ever manor they happen to choose. because labels only serve to divide us from out fellow human.

      it its a unity that will create the force of change, divisions created by our selves or hoisted upon us by others hinders our capacity to embrace each other and to create change together.

      is a revolution needed, yes, but we do not need weapons and violence (having them is one thing using them is another matter), we need a united people and a united agenda, the country has long since lost its way left to politicians and corporations. it is time to hit the reset button and restore the constitution, remove any gender or racial bias and move forward. the country was founded on dreams and ideas. let us learn to dream again, let us encourage ideas to flourish once more. every person needs to stand up and remember that it is your personal duty and oath to uphold the constitution. it is not simply a piece of paper but it is the very foundation of a once great and proud nation.

      the time has past, it is time to wake from the nightmare and take a look at this beautiful world, it is not a scary place and yes there are some issues with it, but it to has lost its way due to the greed of individuals and at the cost of this planets wonders, those to must be restored, we are stewards of this planet, here only for a few brief moments, but it is our responsibility to keep this place in trust for future generations.

    • 1 year ago
  • NuclearLullaby
  • dwb2585
    • +1
      dwb2585  

    • The morons will just pass this off as "right -wing conspiracy." You don't have to believe we have a tyrannical government but It doesn't hurt to be prepared.

      Everything is propaganda and I don't know what to believe but when millions of people are saying "the sky is falling" it doesn't hurt to prepare shelter. If they are wrong, you will have supplies for a power outage(not a right-wing conspiracy) Much better than if they are right and you didn't prepare.

    • 1 year ago
  • Debrinconcita
    • +1
      Debrinconcita  

    • Why don't they stop all the wARs. That would save us a tremendous amount of money? Until then nothing good will become of this country. WE GET exactly what we deserve for taking from so many countries we can't even count them! The day the America changes it's way's of doing business is the day that the economy has a chance to recover? But, of course the Rich will never change their ways' and they will never give their fair share of their profits. So, we will remain like this until the collapse of the country I GUESS??? what else is there??

    • 1 year ago
  • QuestionGeek
  • figgdimension
    • +1
      figgdimension  

    • but if there was one nobody's following this tool that rights this doom and apocalypse shit ... It wouldnt even have to be violent its a revolution of the mind this time we need only to cast off our chains of bondage take the power that is ours and set up a democracy of the people represented by the people no more richie riches sorry guys your being liquidated :) see you with the TAR and FEATHERS thats all it'll take

    • 1 year ago
  • figgdimension
  • SpencerTreeGarden
  • insaintity
  • insaintity
  • jeffissleeping
  • jeffissleeping
    • +7
      jeffissleeping  

    • I enjoy how the initial source is listed as the shadowstats website, penned by actually reputable statistician John Williams, and yet, the entire article is a cut-and-paste excerpt from Paul Craig Roberts on the "Prison Planet" Website, curated by the more dubious Alex Jones...

      Yeah, THAT Alex Jones...the moonbat motherfucker behind Infowars .net and the Alex Jones radio show...

      He considers himself a libertarian, but in reality he's a conservative conspiracy-theorist. His dubious works include:

      "9-11: The Road to Tyranny"
      "Terrorstorm!"
      "The Obama Deception"
      "The Masters of TERROR"
      "Matrix of EVIL"

      ...and lest we forget, he was the Executive Producer of "Loose Change," the wailing, pin-holed documentary that proclaimed, THE US GOVERNMENT HELPED BOMB THE TRADE CENTER AND PENTAGON." AHHHHH!!!!!

      It's more tinfoil hat, footy-pajama rhetoric put forth to artificially enrage the public in order to make money.

      And with that, goodnight, make sure to be SCARED, and don't forget to invest in gold....

    • 1 year ago
  • insaintity
  • s_peak
    • 0
      s_peak  
    • jeffissleeping:

      To make money?

      What do you think our government does when a war happens? They make money and they gain power... just like they did in Vietnam, The Gulf War and the next war they're working on.

      Is it really so hard to believe that our government funds both sides of war for profit?... because if so, you should read about the Iran Contra and be sure to Google the CIA's involvement in that.

      9-11 was clearly a hoax perpetrated to gain support for a war that made our government trillions of dollars and allowed them to undo many amendments to the constitution. You really think that a passport could survive a jet fuel fireball?

      lets throw in a video that starts with your favorite conspiracy theorist (who I actually don't like), Alex Jones... but don't let him scare you away.

      Several of the hijackers are still alive, and have been interviewed. You don't find that strange?

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7ixuf236Dk

    • 1 year ago
  • jeffissleeping
    • -1
      jeffissleeping  
    • s_peak:

      let's begin by not patronizing my knowledge of history. The US gov makes so much goddamn money with the military/industrial/congressional complex, and with Geneva Convention-shattering wars that it makes me shit in my cereal...

      and believe me, i'm no zombie follower of all things government, but dude...to pull off the logistics of what Alex Jones spews...the US government would've had to pull off a work of fucking genius, with thousands of people involved....and it all goes according to plan and no one says a word? You and I both know that they're not that smart, and especially not that coordinated...

      and yes, it's all strange, but hey...that's "conspiracy nuts" defined....

    • 1 year ago
  • Sparky2U
  • s_peak
    • +2
      s_peak  
    • jeffissleeping:

      Fair enough.

      I do agree that the best argument for it NOT being a hoax is that our government just isn't that smart... :)

      But those planes could have been flown remotely, by a computer or some guy with an Xbox controller (the control unit for Predators). The turn the jet executed was pretty ridiculous for a pilot that didn't pass his exam, after all. All they really had to do was pay off a handful of people who supported the agenda already. The agenda being "we get to own the planet, just play along or we'll kill you". I don't find it that hard to believe that people would take on that level of greed. Would you take a million dollars to knock down a building if it meant you got to run the world (and remember... in this scenario you believe America is righteous and you also fear being murdered)? They wouldn't need to pay off THOUSANDS of people... Because there are plenty of people who do follow the government like zombies... most notably, people in high offices who are already corrupt.

      http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Author_Cheney_has_been_first_deputy_0916.html

      I think denial and self delusion are more powerful than anything else in this case. People still don't even want to INVESTIGATE the attack because they don't even want to entertain the idea that it COULD have been a hoax. (Isn't that the opposite of patriotic?)

      Personally, though... I like to take my examples from history, since it tends to repeat itself. I believe that the burning of the Reichtag was a hoax (there's a bit of evidence to support this, but not tons. It's the motivation, not the evidence. The outcome proved the agenda.) used to get Germans behind the Nazi party. They didn't have to pay people off. Patriotistm and fear were enough to blind people (just like today)... Combine that with an influx of resources (The Nazis targeted the Jews because they owned all the department / jewelry stores, and essentially had all the money in a time when Germans were suffering terrible financial woes. In our case, we're running out of oil, and everything we do depends on that.) and you've got yourself a powerful ruse.

      Cheney lied to Dick Armey (see link) which essentially started the war on false pretenses. You think he's beyond hitting an empty section of the pentagon with a missle? Far fetched? Maybe... but I think it's more far fetched that NORAD wasn't dispatched at a rogue target because it was instead doing a training exercise for the exact same scenario. That's very coincidental, if nothing else.

      There's just too much evidence on my side to say "it's too complicated to pull off"... because I really don't think it was that complicated at all.

      Give people a symbol, tell them a lie and give them a gun. Patriotism and anger do the rest.

      The actual hitting of the tower could have been done with just one or two people, or even a computer. There are recordings of NORAD pilots in air asking if the target they're supposed to take down is "real world or exercise". They were confused, so they obviously weren't paid off. Which means it really only took one guy piloting a plane remotely... after that, everything else should have been automatic.

    • 1 year ago
  • rodstradamus
    • -2
      rodstradamus  
    • jeffissleeping:

      I also highly recommend: Invisible Empire, Fall of the Republic and Endgame. You're damn right he's a conspiracy theorist b/c that's exactly what's going on. I dare you to watch a film about 9/11 or the New World Order, but you won't, b/c you're an intellectually limp, naive, self-censoring, yuppie flake and every time a weakling like yourself makes snickering comments about Alex Jones, he gets more listeners. Thanks, now go back to sleep.
      www.current.com/groups/conspiracy-films

    • 1 year ago
  • jeffissleeping
    • 0
      jeffissleeping  
    • rodstradamus:

      wow...looks like you missed all of the films by Alex Jones that I've seen and listed above, and for good measure I've also read 9/11 Descent Into Tyranny...and thanks for taking the high road...

      classy.

    • 1 year ago
  • bailey78
  • MilchMann
    • 0
      MilchMann  
    • s_peak:

      Really? Cause sill me thought that when the government wanted to make money they called the Mint! Oh, but you meant the government contractors didn't you... kind of like the vice president that just left office?

    • 1 year ago
  • dariusvons
    • +2
      dariusvons  

    • "In the past the Middle had made revolutions under the banner of equality, and then had established a fresh tyranny as soon as the old one was overthrown." O'brian in 1984

    • 1 year ago
  • dariusvons
  • Sparky2U
  • observer2121
  • bailey78
  • KSirys
  • bailey78
  • EmperorThan
  • Sparky2U
  • ibrake4rappers13
  • ayipis
  • randallr01
  • s_peak
    • +1
      s_peak  
    • ayipis:

      Do you know how many people are on anti-depressants in this country?! They're fucking seratonin reuptake inhibitors! They literally rot away your ability to form normal moods over time. It's no wonder we have some of the most violent and stupid people in this country...

    • 1 year ago
  • bailey78
  • MilchMann
    • 0
      MilchMann  
    • s_peak:

      WOW, where did you get that? And they are actually SSRI's or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors... but whose counting right?
      The flaw in your logic is that SSRI's actually cause certain serotonin molecules to remain in the synaptic gap for an extended period of time allowing it to have more of an effect. The reuptake actually refers to the serotonin exiting the synapse where it acts to bridge the gap so to speak. Neurology is full of ass backwards terms. I suggest you do some research before you jump to any more conclusions.

    • 1 year ago
  • toyotabedzrock
  • s_peak
    • +6
      s_peak  
    • Image
    • toyotabedzrock:

      Inflation will always APPEAR to fluctuate (but it actually just rises in the long term)... and the nature of our market makes it seem to wax and wane. Inflation happens, so less people buy things... so inflation goes down to force demand back up. Then inflation rises again... repeat. Inflation is superficial, which is why it seems to go away during a depression. Bottom line: Inflation is man-made. It has to be... for the value of things don't really change... but the companies that CREATE value do.

      Our system is built like that. The market goes up, and it goes down. Just like in gambling, though... the house always wins. The people running the game will always get the better of us. By the way... what happened to all that TARP money? I heard Citibank got another bonus this year.

      Banks create virtual money by backing deposits by a factor of 2 (that should still be right)... and injecting this new money into the system. The more people spend, the better our money supply looks, but we still stay in debt. Low inflation means that there's less money being spent, which means there's less money in the system, which means unemployment is rising... and unemployment will ALSO fluctuate in the short term... BUT... long term, all of the jobs are merely being given to machines, which is the natural progression.... and this also means that our population must decrease to meet this need... or everyone needs to become an engineer. As our population continues to increase while jobs naturally phase out (And less people become interested in education)... it's like a triple-whammy! My theory is that there will essentially just be more war/conflict (or unjust legislation) to cover this spread by stealing resources.

      http://www.businessinsider.com/unemployment-is-now-likely-rising-not-falling-201...

    • 1 year ago
  • MilchMann
    • 0
      MilchMann  
    • s_peak:

      Actually inflation has to do with currency in circulation in relation to a fixed value. We dont have very much money in circulation in part because banks are lending and in part because no one is spending what they have.

    • 1 year ago
  • TopScruffy
  • ReverandG
    • -1
      ReverandG  

    • I will be taking a hundred people or more to a nice valley in the mountains that can be protected when the crap finally hits the fan. Start stocking up on provisions and seeds for crops if you can. Be prepared like the Scout motto says.

    • 1 year ago
  • Nephwrack
  • ayipis
  • alexandrek
  • Sparky2U
  • Sparky2U
  • Sparky2U
  • jubal
  • DogBoy
  • MilchMann
  • galwayman
    • 0
      galwayman  

    • The spineless leaders in Washington DC,as well as in most states and cities,stopped representing we the people 60 years ago at least,to them our opinions don't matter,all they care about is keeping their masters,the rich elite,in profit at our expense! WHEN THE GOVERNMENT STOPS REPRESENTING US WE HAVE A RIGHT TO REPLACE,ABOLISH,OR OVERTHROW IT! Don't forget that! We must return this nation to the rule of law,the Constitution! We can no longer trust either political party,they sold us out a long time ago,stripped us of our rights,and lied to us! It is well past time for debate instead we the people must take action!

    • 1 year ago
  • Paratus
    • -2
      Paratus  

    • Depends on what happens in November. If we do not end this assault on our country by the White HOuse and Capital Hill we may be forced into this option.

    • 1 year ago
  • tylervictoria1
  • tylervictoria1
  • Sparky2U
  • jubal
    • 0
      jubal  
    • Paratus:

      If people revolt they will be put down. How laughable that you think that the assault just started. The coup already came and has been on going since before President Jackson. It began with the establishment of the Federal Reserve. It was a silent coup.

    • 1 year ago
  • dudefromtherock
  • DisownCashValue
  • Omnomynous
  • ReverandG
  • s_peak
  • bailey78
  • MilchMann
  • MilchMann
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