On Mon, 05 Sept 1977 12:56:00 UTC, the spacecraft Voyager 1 was launched from Earth. Fairly recently this spacecraft left our solar system and entered into interstellar space. At the time of writing this article, after 42 years and six months, travelling at just over 38600 miles per hour, Voyager 1 is now just over 13.8 billion miles from Earth. Travelling at the speed of light, it would take around 20 minutes and 35 seconds to cover this enormous distance (see here).
I write the above because sometimes such enormous numbers are thrown around by politicians and bankers and I’m sure that many of us find it hard to visualise just how enormous these numbers are.
There was a time that Voyager’s 13.8 billion miles from Earth sounded like a mind blowing figure. Think then just how much the more than 700 billion dollars that the United States printed to stimulate the economy during the 2008 financial crisis really is. By comparison Voyager’s distance from Earth seema like a hop skip and a jump.
Fast forward to 2020 and nobody can help but notice that the stock markets are in turmoil. In the last few weeks the stock markets have lost around 30% of their value with some relief last Friday with the promise of 1.5 trillion dollars of stimulus. This is the equivalent of the GDP of Australia or Russia: Voyager 1 is suddenly looking to be still very close to Earth.
Some months ago the US government started bailing out the repo markets to the tune of 50 billion dollars a day, this with the promise that it was just a precaution that would only last a week or perhaps two. Months later, the repo bail out continues, up until last week the amount had merely doubled to 100 billion but now according to some estimates this is heading towards 500 billion a day with one trillion a day expected in the near future. By comparison Voyager 1 has barely left Earth’s orbit.
Let’s be clear about this, bailing out the repo markets provides the illusion of liquidity, various banks and financial institutions need this freshly printed money to keep the cash machines running, pay cash withdrawals and allow us to pay our bills. Without these bail outs, we would already be in Mad Max territory: this time is approaching though.
These markets died at the time of the 2008 financial crisis since they have been propped up with printed money. The 700 odd billion in stimulus used to bail out the markets in 2008 seemed like a lot but now we’re talking trillions, billion are now neither here nor there. This coming financial crisis, even before we’ve felt the full effects of it, has already consumed more cash in stimulus by exponents than the 2008 crash. This is the stuff of nightmares!
How long do you think that the US can print a trillion dollars a day to keep the banking system running? Which bank will crash first? You have to bear in mind that once this money has been printed, we hoi polloi are liable through taxation for the interest on the debt. Meanwhile the top 0.01% will use this worthless fiat currency to purchase tangible assets: what is coming up is the greatest wealth transfer in human history, the 2008 crisis was just a dry run.
Check this out from Inequality.org – apparently the top 1% of the world’s population own 44% of the world’s wealth: this though isn’t enough for them, they want it all. I’ve no objection to people turning a coin but this isn’t business, it is fascism.
Consider this US debt clock, with the US national debt currently standing at around 23.5 trillion dollars and rising exponentially: what do you think this figure will look like after the massive bailout that will soon be required?
A US taxpayer currently has to service (taken as an average) 190000 dollars of government debt before he provides for himself or for his family, this is soon going to be much, much worse. Most western countries are in the same state as the US, by the end of the imminent financial crisis we hoi polloi will be left scurrying around like rats for what is left and the top 1% will own much more than 44% of the world’s wealth.
What we are watching is a carefully planned wealth transfer and we would be naive if we thought that our politicians didn’t know what was going on, including that clown Boris Johnson. Perhaps we should ask ourselves just how our politicians plan to deal with the world of Mad Max as liquidity dries up and the cash machines and credit facilities run dry?
Well, coronavirus or Covid-19 seems very convenient for politicians. In the coming months as the bank runs begin and the world’s economies crash, by that time we hoi polloi will be in full lock down.
What with ever increasing travel restrictions, bans on mass gatherings, people being confined to their own homes, this is the stuff of a totalitarian police state.
What we need to ask ourselves now is what kind of world will we be left in after the coming financial and health crisis? Will we ever regain much of our freedom and independence in a totalitarian world where we’re all scrambling around for a much smaller and ever diminishing slice of the pie?
We have been led into this dire position by a long succession of fake politicians that never really represented us, their main job is to fob us off with smiling reassurances while they sell us out and betray us.
Maybe one day we’ll find truly honest and democratic politicians to represent us, until that time: never trust a politician!
The economic policy of supporting the market with upt to USD 1.5 trillion is a decision of President Donald John Trump, the greatest president that America has ever had and who is working hard to make and keep America great again. President Trump is one of the most successful businessmen in the world and is a true friend of all Brexiteers.
I find this article casting aspersions on the economic policies of President Trump to be the work of a subversive liberal, who if is an immigrant to the USofA should go back to where he belongs.
Me a subversive Liberal, you’re off your head.
It seems we’re all doomed! Doomed! If it’s not climate change it’s another childish con causing such needless panic. The rich need the poor in order to be rich, they need us to work and make and buy stuff. Difficult times may be coming for some, for a while, but we’ve always come out of these moments and got on with it. I can’t see any difference. The corona hogwash we’re being fed is such nonsense because the figures don’t support any of this panic and alarm, we’ve had a dealt with much much worse.
Regards Jamie
The one thing that I and many will agree with you Flyer, is that the numbers used today are beyond general comprehension. – Oh, we know what they mean if we write them down, and that is why your Stellar measurement is helpful to the likes of myself !
You have illuminated the possible, with the likelihood of the possible becoming fact, – Your a bit short upon suggestions for correction ! – Should I now be giving thought to buying guns and ammunition for my own survival, because Law and Order will be a thing of the past ?
As production of everything is linked to currency, a barter system will take over, though employment as we know it will cease. – The problem there is that many will have nowt to barter with, and that will lead to barbaric criminality ! ….. Are you sure you don’t have corrective suggestions ?
The only answer I could suggest is Localism. Does anyone disagree? Or is the concept impracticable?
Flyer you have been warning of this impending crash for some time and your predictions appear to be imminent. One can hear the mood music playing in the background. There is a perfect storm gathering.
It does seem that we are past the halfway mark where it is less likely that all will have a happy ending.
With regards numbers, one of the tricks with the climate catastrophe maniacs is to quote giga-tons of melting ice at the poles. Meaningless and unimaginable figures are quoted. How can ordinary people understand these numbers? What will be left of people’s mental health? Where will the bar be set? Who will be able to have a normal life afterwards? Will there be such a thing as a ‘normal life’
Not to be forgotten is the AI and Robotics revolution coming over the horizon!
Actual gold and silver largely sold out today. Plenty of the paper version around though at laughably low prices. Just like 2008.
Since I wrote this article and while you slept last night, the US have dropped interest rates to as near dammit zero, this with a further five 700 billion in stimulus added to the 1.5 trillion promised last week. I make that 2.2 trillion in stimulus since last week and judging by stock futures which are drastically still down it still isn’t working, it seems that this stimulus is seen by the markets as a vote of no confidence.
UK and European markets are already being hammered this morning, when US markets open this afternoon it should be quite interesting.
I think we’re heading into an interesting week, if it doesn’t end in disaster I think complete disaster is very imminent; disaster that is for we hoi palloi.
While we hoi polloi head for disaster, I bet that old rat Soros and his like are making huge profits off the back of this whole situation.
He’s shorted and sorted.