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The Trouble with Money

by Chris Martenson
Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 9:28 AM
A Broken Narrative

Recently I was asked by a high school teacher if I had any ideas about why students today seem so apathetic when it comes to engaging with the world around them. I waggishly responded, "Probably because they're smart."

In my opinion, we're asking our young adults to step into a story that doesn't make any sense.

Sure, we can grow the earth's population to 9 billion (and probably will), and sure, we can extract our natural gas and oil resources as fast as possible, and sure, we can continue to pile on official debts at a staggering pace -- but why are we doing all this? Even more troubling, what do we say to our youth when they ask what role they should play in this story -- a story with a plot line they didn't get to write?

So far, the narrative we're asking them to step into sounds a lot like this: Study hard, go to college, maybe graduate school. And when you get out, not only will you be indebted to your education loans and your mortgage, but you'll be asked to help pay back trillions and trillions of debt to cover the decisions of those who came before you. All while operating within a crumbling, substandard infrastructure. Oh, and by the way, the government and corporate sector appear to have no real interest in your long-term future; you're on your own there. » Read more

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www.Kripalu.org

Join Us at Kripalu June 29-July 1

Is it time for you to kick your personal resiliency into a h
by Adam Taggart
Monday, April 16, 2012, 11:54 AM

Fresh off of a very successful seminar weekend at Rowe in March, we're gearing up for the last seminar we plan to offer this year.

It will be at the beautiful Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, at a wonderful time of year:

We're very excited to have been invited to conduct our workshop at such a well-regarded and respected destination as Kripalu, where internationally-known speakers like Deepak Chopra present regularly.

This June, we'll be building on the new material we debuted at Rowe, which addresses how we are much farther along the "Three E" timeline than when the Crash Course videos were created four years ago. » Read more

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Are We Heading for Another 2008?

Intervention ultimately leads to greater instability
by Charles Hugh Smith
Wednesday, April 11, 2012, 12:44 PM

We all know that central banks and governments have been actively intervening in markets since the 2007 subprime mortgage meltdown destabilized the leveraged-debt-dependent global economy. We also know that unprecedented intervention is now the de facto institutionalized policy of central banks and governments. In some cases, the financial authorities have explicitly stated their intention to “stabilize markets” (translation: reinflate credit-driven speculative bubbles) by whatever means are necessary, while in others the interventions are performed by proxies so the policy remains implicit. 

All through the waning months of 2007 and the first two quarters of 2008, the market gyrated as the Federal Reserve and other central banks issued reassurances that the subprime mortgage meltdown was “contained” and posed no threat to the global economy. The equity market turned to its standard-issue reassurance: “Don’t fight the Fed,” a maxim that elevated the Federal Reserve’s power to goose markets to godlike status.

But alas, the global financial meltdown of late 2008 showed that hubris should not be confused with godlike power. Despite the “impossibility” of the market disobeying the Fed’s commands (“Away with thee, oh tides, for we are the Federal Reserve!”) and the “sure-fire” cycle of stocks always rising in an election year, global markets imploded as the usual bag of central bank and Sovereign State tricks failed in spectacular fashion. » Read more

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© familymwr | flickr Creative Commons

The Race for BTUs

World powers are positioning themselves around where the mos
by Gregor Macdonald
Tuesday, April 3, 2012, 9:57 PM

The world's major central banks -- including the Bank of Japan (BOJ), the European Central Bank (ECB), and the Federal Reserve -- appear to have finally won a major battle in the deflationary war that broke out five years ago in 2007. While the ultimate victor is yet to be determined, it now seems likely that a period of nominal growth could ensue for another two years, perhaps even longer.

This will not be high-quality growth. And little of the growth will be real.

Commodity prices will surely eat away at most, if not all, of any gains that may occur in global GDP. Additionally, while non-OECD growth actually has a chance of achieving some GDP gains in real terms, the prospects for the OECD are not as encouraging. » Read more

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Gold is Manipulated (But That's Okay)

by Chris Martenson
Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 11:00 PM

The price of gold is being actively managed by central planners and their proxies. The main culprit here appears to be the US authorities, as the manipulation is most apparent in the US open gold market. For the most part, this 'management' has resulted in letting the price of gold rise, but not too much, or too quickly. 

The price of gold has always been an object of interest for governments and central bankers. The reason is simple enough to understand: Gold is an objective measure of the degree to which fiat money is being managed well or managed poorly.

As such, whenever paper money is being governed poorly, the price of gold becomes an important barometer. And this is why the actual price of gold is a strong candidate to be 'managed.' Or 'influenced'. Or 'manipulated'. Whichever word you prefer, they all convey the same intent.

» Read more

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A Primer for Those Considering Expatriation

by Mark Nestmann
Thursday, March 22, 2012, 9:32 AM

A growing number of Americans are frustrated with the way in which their economy has been managed and are becoming increasingly concerned about future measures the governement may take to keep its coffers full.

A question that is arising with increasing frequency is: does expatraition offer a viable protection to those concerned about a more financially-intrusive US system?

The answer is 'yes', it does offer a completely legal solution for ending your obligation to pay US income, captial gains, and gift taxes on your worldwide income. But it is certainly not for everyone and should only be pursued after lengthy and diligent consideration.

And before you begin dreaming of a tax-free future, you should realize that the United States imposes taxes on a broader basis than any other country. The United States is one of two countries, and is the only major country, that imposes significant income, capital gains, gift, and estate taxes on its non-resident citizens.

In virtually all other countries, individuals end their liability to pay income tax after a sustained period of non-residence, generally one year or longer. But to legally and permanently end U.S. tax liability on their worldwide income, U.S. citizens must also give up their U.S. citizenship and passport. This process is called "expatriation." » Read more

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Only 1 Week Left Until the Weekend Seminar!

by Adam Taggart
Friday, March 16, 2012, 9:38 PM

If you've been waiting until the last minute to pull the trigger on joining Chris, Becca, and me at our upcoming weekend seminar, don't wait much longer. That minute is approaching fast.

We're only planning two of these seminars for 2011 and are quite excited about this coming one. Why? Because it will be the first public unveiling of a substantial amount of new material Chris has been developing since the release of his book last year.

» Read more

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Understanding the New Price of Oil

by Gregor Macdonald
Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 12:52 PM

In the spring of 2011, when Libyan oil production -- over 1 million barrels a day (mpd) -- was suddenly taken offline, the world received its first real-time test of the global pricing system for oil since the crash lows of 2009.

Oil prices, already at the $85 level for WTIC, bolted above $100, and eventually hit a high near $115 over the following two months.

More importantly, however, is that -- save for a brief eight week period in the autumn -- oil prices have stubbornly remained over the $85 pre-Libya level ever since. Even as the debt crisis in Europe has flared.

As usual, the mainstream view on the world’s ability to make up for the loss has been wrong. How could the removal of “only” 1.3% of total global production affect the oil price in any prolonged way? was the universal view of “experts.”

Answering that question requires that we modernize, effectively, our understanding of how oil's numerous price discovery mechanisms now operate. The past decade has seen a number of enormous shifts, not only in supply and demand, but in market perceptions about spare capacity. All these were very much at play last year.

And, they are at play right now as oil prices rise once again as the global economy tries to strengthen.

 
» Read more
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Join Us in Rowe, MA March 23-25

by Chris Martenson
Wednesday, March 7, 2012, 11:33 PM

Whether you are brand new to this site or a longtime veteran, take a moment to ask yourself this question: am I as physically, emotionally and financially prepared as I feel I should be for a post Peak Oil future?

If the answer is "no", don't panic. Almost none of us (myself included) are able to answer that question in the affirmative.

It's a well known fact that when people are anxious or fearful, their ability to act is significantly diminished. Our weekend-long seminars are designed to help provide clarity, focus and relief from the anxiety you might feel about the future -- and most importantly -- to get you effectively oriented to take constructive action within the highest priority areas of your life. 

We're doing just two of these weekend seminars this year, and the first is quickly approaching. If it's time for you to kick your personal resiliency into a higher gear, we would love for you to join us:

"Thriving in Any Future" Seminar

Rowe Camp & Conference Center

22 Kings Highway

Rowe, Massachusetts 01367

Friday March 23 through Sunday, March 25, 2012

Presented by Chris & Becca Martenson, with Adam Taggart

Cost varies - click here for more information

Click here to register online

» Read more

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Japan Is Now Another Spinning Plate in the Global Economy Circus

by Chris Martenson
Monday, March 5, 2012, 12:00 PM

At the circus, you are sometimes treated to the spinning plate act where a performer tries to keep an improbable number of plates spinning at once, racing from one plate to the next as their wobbles indicate the need for another dose of momentum. Considering the number of spinning and wobbling plates that our central planners are managing, it's easy to be both amazed and anxious at the same time.

The difference between the spinning plate analogy and real-world economic and financial systems is that if a failure occurs out in the real world, it has a very high chance of spreading across and through the other elements of the system. Contagion is the fear, as if in finally toppling, one plate will crash into its neighbor and set off a chain reaction of falling plates.

To carry this metaphor, Japan is a wobbly plate.

For those who are in a hurry today, the bottom line is that Japan is in serious trouble right now and is a top candidate to be the next black swan. » Read more