In this week’s Off The Cuff podcast, Chris and James Howard Kunstler discuss:

• The sorry state of the US political system
• From Covid to Epstein: can our “leaders” bungle even worse?
• Why Re-localization is the answer, whether we want it or not
• Why we’re never returning to “normal” as we knew it

Jim Kunstler returns to the program to report the latest view through is “Long Emergency” lens.

It’s a little scary: many of the trends he’s long been predicting have been suddenly accelerated by the events of 2020. Particularly his warnings that our urban & suburban lifestyle of mega-marts, McMansions and food deserts were going to start failing us, resulting in flight to rural areas.

As Jim explains here, re-localization of our economy and social networks is going to be the way of the future — whether we choose it, or reality forces it upon us.

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Executive Summary

• The approaching frenzy of tipping points
• Why collapse is already in progress
• Choosing emergence-y over emergency
• My personal plan

If you have not yet read Part 1: Welcome To Easter Island, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.

A tipping point is a critical moment in time when the old gives way to the new — suddenly and irreversibly.

This is where we are – when the old is breaking down, in an uncomfortable interregnum, to be followed by something completely new that is simply waiting to be brought to light.

Seen this way, this is an exciting time to be alive. At least that’s the way I see it.

So what’s coming next? And what steps should we be taking today to meet it?

In my opinion, the most important action to take now is…

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Why is this full report restricted to Peak Prosperity’s premium subscribers? Two main reasons:

One — we reserve our best analysis and most directive guidance for the paying members whose financial support makes operating this site possible. Also, given that some of this material is our “best guess” thinking or can be overly revealing of the details of our personal actions, we’re only willing to share that with this private audience. We wouldn’t feel comfortable having that level of speculative/private information out in the public realm.

And Two — one of the many benefits of premium membership is closer access to the experts on this site.

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In this week’s Off The Cuff podcast, Chris and Axel Merk discuss:

• Fire resilience
• The Fed has no clue how to get out of the box it’s in
• The Fed is only looking at the immediate term; it leaves tomorrow’s problems to tomorrow
• Why the best short-term policy is a good long-term policy

Last week saw another FOMC statement, which Fed-watcher Axel Merk returns to the program to de-code for us.

In short, the Fed is giving itself more leeway to deal with a problem it has no clue how to fix. It is simply playing for time, trying to reassure us in the meanwhile that it has everything under control.

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Executive Summary

• Hard Work
• Persistence
• Luck
• Systems Thinking

If you have not yet read Part 1: Collapse Is A Process, Not An Event, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.

Because I think in systems, I tend to fashion my projects in ways that they feed off of and interact with each other.

As well, my systems view informs my sense of how things are going to turn out in the future which defines what I consider to be useful projects to pursue.

I have a formula for success.  It works really well for me and I want to share it with you.

Fair warning: not everyone is going to like it.

Ready?  Here it is…

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Why is this full report restricted to Peak Prosperity’s premium subscribers? Two main reasons:

One — we reserve our best analysis and most directive guidance for the paying members whose financial support makes operating this site possible. Also, given that some of this material is our “best guess” thinking or can be overly revealing of the details of our personal actions, we’re only willing to share that with this private audience. We wouldn’t feel comfortable having that level of speculative/private information out in the public realm.

And Two — one of the many benefits of premium membership is closer access to the experts on this site.

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In this week’s Off The Cuff podcast, Chris and Wolf Richter discuss:

• The danger of asset bubbles
• The Fed’s serial addiction to blowing them
• Tesla and the shale industry as case studies
• Covid-19s legacy on society

Everyone loves a bubble until it bursts. And we now live in age of multiple bubbles, with the Federal Reserve at the center, blowing each with vigor.

This inevitably will end painfully, as every prior bubble era has. But along the way, the more massive the distortions become, the greater the injustice between rich and poor becomes, and the more damage will ultimately follow.

And, slowly but surely, more and more people are waking up to the reality that the Fed’s serial addiction to blowing bubbles is actually the cause of many of today’s problems, not the cure as it would have us believe.

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Executive Summary

• The incredible correlation between Economy & Energy
• Why limits matter (and will matter more in the coming years)
• The coming, unsolvable collision of our Economic, Energy & Environmental systems
• The looming deadline: Why you need to take action before June 2021

If you have not yet read Part 1: Losing Hope? Focus On Gaining Life Instead., available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.

After a dozen years of research and inquiry, I’ve come to a major set of conclusions: There’s a massive economic crisis coming.  And an energy crisis.  They are conjoined and each will juice the destructive effects of the other.  Oh, and there’s also an ecological crisis, which is similarly intertwined with the other two.

After watching the utter inability of our national “leaders” to properly manage the basics in their response to the pandemic,  I simply don’t think we’ve got the ability to sort through the complexities and subtleties of navigating three gigantic, inter-related crises.

Which means it’s up to us — to become resilient and prepared at the individual level.

First, and most important, each of us needs to start by…

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Why is this full report restricted to Peak Prosperity’s premium subscribers? Two main reasons:

One — we reserve our best analysis and most directive guidance for the paying members whose financial support makes operating this site possible. Also, given that some of this material is our “best guess” thinking or can be overly revealing of the details of our personal actions, we’re only willing to share that with this private audience. We wouldn’t feel comfortable having that level of speculative/private information out in the public realm.

And Two — one of the many benefits of premium membership is closer access to the experts on this site.

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In this week’s Off The Cuff podcast, Chris and Art Berman discuss:

• US oil consumption is down ~15%, a good proxy of GDP shrinkage
• Why US oil production will be dramatically lower by next June
• Why the US may never produce as much oil as it did between 2016-2019
• Why oil, not interest rates, will be the limiter of economic growth going forward

For many years on this website we’ve warned of the coming crisis of “Peak Cheap Oil”. We may now be entering a new, accelerating stage of that story.

Petroleum geologist Art Berman returns to the program to explain why he predicts US oil production will be materially lower by next June, and why it will likely never return to its 2016-2019 highs.

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Executive Summary

• Becoming a ‘Gray Man’ (or Woman)
• Protecting yourself, your loved ones, your home & your money
• Leading by example
• How to make the best of where you are, and best practices for relocating/expatriating

If you have not yet read Part 1: Suddenly Fear Of Social Unrest Is Everywhere, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.

As mentioned, one of the top concerns we’re hearing our readers express is the increasingly likelihood of major social unrest breaking out.

And as long as the current policies driving the expanding wealth inequality gap continue, we agree that’s a very valid concern.

So, what can you today to reduce your vulnerability should unrest and the threat of violence/looting come to your community?

The good news is: A lot.

Below, we’ve compiled the most effective, practical actions and best practices you should consider taking now to safeguard your loved ones, your home, and your wealth from the “mob threat”.

First, and most important, start by…

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Why is this full report restricted to Peak Prosperity’s premium subscribers? Two main reasons:

One — we reserve our best analysis and most directive guidance for the paying members whose financial support makes operating this site possible. Also, given that some of this material is our “best guess” thinking or can be overly revealing of the details of our personal actions, we’re only willing to share that with this private audience. We wouldn’t feel comfortable having that level of speculative/private information out in the public realm.

And Two — one of the many benefits of premium membership is closer access to the experts on this site.

If you’re not yet a premium member but would like to become one and access this full report,  as well as *all* of our premium content, click the button below to subscribe:

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In this week’s Off The Cuff podcast, Chris and Mish Shedlock discuss:

• An escapee from Illinois tells all
• Covid-19 is permanently changing household behavior
• A boom for the rich; a depression for the rest of us
• Is it now crunch-time?

As the dust continues to settle from the mad scramble by our “leaders” to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, it’s becoming clearer and clear that the unprecedented monetary and fiscal “rescue” stimulus served to make the already-wealthy a whole lot richer while the remaining 99% of America took it squarely on the chin.

And now that the scant money for Main Street has flowed to a trickle, Mish thinks that the bucket of consequences can’t be kicked down the road for much longer. Households are starting to run out of money, and once that happens on a large enough scale, the simmering resentment across the country is due to boil over.

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Executive Summary

• The #1 reason the entire system will collapse: oil
• Why the Fed is stuck with the Zombie economy it created
• How I am hedging against the inflation of the printing press
• Why we need to be our own heroes in this story — the authorities certainly won’t

If you have not yet read Part 1: One Step removed, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.

Our approach at Peak Prosperity is to begin at the top and then work down.  We’ve got a framework for understanding the world and assigning priorities to our actions.

The big picture view is this: infinite growth on a finite planet is impossible.  Yet our entire system of money and our economic systems are all predicated on the idea of infinite growth.  Quite the conundrum, eh?

To me there’s no contest and no conundrum to solve.  Reality wins out every time.  If you overfish the seas and the fisheries collapse, then the reality of that wins out over whatever ‘the market’ demands.   Fish prices could double or quintuple and still no more fish will emerge from the empty sea.

The most basic reality that we all live under – yours truly especially included – is that fossil fuel energy delivers pretty much everything we see around us, everything we consume, and supports everything we do.

Even with some rosy projections for August and September, it’s clear that…

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Why is this full report restricted to Peak Prosperity’s premium subscribers? Two main reasons:

One — we reserve our best analysis and most directive guidance for the paying members whose financial support makes operating this site possible. Also, given that some of this material is our “best guess” thinking or can be overly revealing of the details of my personal actions, I’m only willing to share that with this private audience. I wouldn’t feel comfortable having that level of speculative/private information out in the public realm.

And Two — one of the many benefits of premium membership is closer access to the experts on this site.

If you’re not yet a premium member but would like to become one and access this full report,  as well as *all* of our premium content, click the button below to subscribe:

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Read More »