Tag: economy

Democracy Cancelled: We Have to Save It!

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

It is less than eight months to the November elections in the U.S. and I am already looking forward to the day after. At least we will not be subject to non-stop posturing by candidates pleading for your vote. At least not for a few days. That is, if an election is even held at all, the cancellation of which cannot be discounted.

Given the present state of American politics, both home and abroad, and economics, it would not be unreasonable to think that something will happen between now and November 5 which would be the catalyst for the government to announce that, “An election at this time is too risky and therefore it will be postponed until a more propitious moment sometime in the future. Democracy is at stake and must be protected.” Which means that all elections in the (murky, unforeseeable) future will be held at the behest of those who are in control of the government. Which means Soviet-style on an ad-hoc basis, depending on whether it is deemed advantageous to the ruling party or not.

Ah, yes! We will have to suspend democracy for its own good. Sounds like that old saw from the Viet Nam era about destroying the village to save it.

What could precipitate such a drastic event? Look at the big picture, first.

Donald Trump is on a roll and Joe Biden is visibly sinking in the polls. If the current momentum continued, Trump would gain somewhere north of 60% of the popular vote and a huge majority of the Electoral Count. Obviously, his “enemies” are not happy about this and will do whatever they can (feverishly) to derail the juggernaut. Assassination is not out of the question, although if this happened, the mood of his disciples would turn downright ugly and the tension would ratchet up steeply. As in hockey stick style with no discernible end to the destruction sure to follow.

The American economy is running on fumes and fraudulent finances. The debt added by the Federal government has reached $1 trillion every 100 days, which means that, at the current rate, almost $2.5 trillion in new debt will be incurred by the date of the election in November. Inflation, despite continual reassurances, is not under control as anyone of modest means could tell you after a trip to the grocery store. Commercial real estate is taking a nose-dive and many banks which are exposed to this will probably go belly-up and be absorbed by the Too Big To Fail mega-banks, which will probably be taken over by The Bank, i.e., the Federal Reserve in a desperate attempt to keep things together. A financial crisis many times greater than the one which occurred in 2008 could certainly happen at any time and would, almost certainly, cause the “authorities” to take drastic measures.

America foreign policy is on the ropes, as can be seen in the debacle in Ukraine and the mass genocide of the Palestinians by the state of Israel. War clouds in Europe and the Middle East are growing darker by the day and there seems to be little effort to tone down the rhetoric in official circles. All the while, the West (US and its minions) are being shoved to the side by the rest of the world as it goes about conducting business.

As to the election, all that it would take to put this on hold would be for something, anything, to happen which the ruling authorities could use to justify a complete power grab. It does not matter what the event is as long as it can be pitched to persuade the American electorate of the necessity. The crisis is all that counts, or, as Rahm Emmanuel advised years ago, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Since the average person cooperates with the “dictates from on high” and has been conditioned to go along with “our” government, it is almost 100% certain that, while there may be some grumbling and complaining, nothing of real substance will be done to counteract or invalidate the pronouncement.

Now, as to when, where, and how this happens is beyond my ability to know. Speculation is useless and a waste of valuable time. I do know that something momentous is going to happen. I do know that things (the situation on the ground, the status quo) are going to change drastically and dramatically. I do know that I am going to do my best to simply ride the wave until it crashes, hoping to keep my head above water, and pick up the pieces when it crashes.

As I am certain it will.

Covid: Distraction from the Real Danger

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

+33.1%. -32.9%. -6.9%

What are these numbers and why do they have any significance to our lives? Respectively, they are the rate of change in the GDP (gross domestic product) of the United States in the third quarter (3Q), the second quarter (2Q), and the first quarter (1Q), in the year 2020. For reference, see here and here.

As the saying goes, give me the good news first.

It looks as if the third quarter GDP had a very substantial increase over the second quarter and in a “normal” year, this would be cause for jubilant celebration. However, there are some things to take into account here which should cause the exuberance to throttle back.

Most of this has been caused, not by an actual increase in productivity within general society, but by extraordinary government spending related to the Covid-19 crisis. For example, stimulus checks sent to everyone have been received and spent, skewing the percentages and making it appear that the country is in the recovery stage. However, that “shot in the arm” has (so far) been a singular event and due to a deadlocked government probably will not be repeated any time soon.

Of course, miracles do happen and it is possible that Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell will come to agreement, shake hands, er, I mean, bump elbows, and congratulate themselves for a job well done. Right, and pigs fly too! At least, though, I am partly correct. They will congratulate themselves, whether the job is well done or not.

If we don’t get another round of stimulus and Joe Biden gets to impose a “very dark winter” because of the panic and hysteria surrounding the Corona Monster, we will likely see a substantial drop in the economy, if not in the 4Q 2020, then almost certainly in 1Q and 2Q 2021.

But, enough of the prognostications anyway. Let’s get back to the actual percentages and explore these from a purely mathematical perspective.

Assume that the economy at the beginning of the year 2020 had a base value of 100. Using the reported GDP drop of 6.9% for the first quarter means that on April 1, 2020, the economy had a base value of 93.1. In the second quarter, the economy contracted an additional 32.9% from that new value. This resulted in a base value on July 1 of only 62.47, which translates to an economic loss from the first of the year of almost 38%.

But, you say, the economy rebounded 33.1% in the third quarter, so we’re almost back to where we were at the beginning of the year. Not so fast, though, since mathematics doesn’t work that way. Keep in mind that we are not dealing with simple numbers, but percentages, and 33.1% of the base value at the end of the second quarter is only 62.47. Therefore, multiplying the base value (62.47) by the percentage increase (33.1) produces an increase of only 20.68 (rounded), which added to the base value results in a total economy of 83.15, or an overall loss of almost 17% from the total economy at the start of the year.

Realistically, in order to bring the economy at the end of 2020 back to where it was at the beginning would require another increase of around 20% in the GDP through the fourth quarter, which is not likely to happen. Most of the 3Q increase was due to government intervention and, since that intervention has not been seen in the 4Q, it seems probable that any increase in GDP will be severely scaled back and may actually show up in the negative column.

Mix in the all-too-likely spectre of officially ordered lockdowns by power-hungry presidents, governors, mayors, and county health departments which will have the immediate effect of throwing vast numbers of persons out of work, drastically reducing their productivity, and the amount of money they have to spend. It should be apparent that the economy is on very shaky ground.

And we thought 2020 was bad. A few years (quarters?) from now, we will call these the Good Old Days.

Action and Reaction: The Consequences to Come, Part 2

Roger Mitchell1 Comment

To mask or not to mask? That is the question of the day. My apologies to William Shakespeare.

On May 26, 2020, I posted a Letter to the Editor in the Bitterroot Star (https://bitterrootstar.com/2020/05/action-and-reaction-the-consequences-to-come/ ), in which I asked some questions about what was going to happen as a result of the reaction, both official and unofficial, to the corona virus pandemic.

We are beginning to find out and it’s not looking good.

When 2Q GDP numbers came out recently, we learned that the American economy had contracted 32.9% annualized from the same period in 2019. This was the largest and steepest drop in history, far eclipsing even the worst of the Great Depression of the 1930’s. This came on the heels of the 1Q GDP contraction of 6.9% from the 1Q 2019. What is interesting is that the economy in early March was still registering a slight amount of growth, but essentially collapsed in the last half of the month, coinciding neatly with the extreme lockdown of the country.

Wile E. Coyote, anyone?

Projections and predictions are that the 3Q GDP figures will show up to a 15% increase over 2Q, but this is still a precipitous drop from 2019. Of course, it should be noted that projections and predictions are just that—guesses and estimates at best. It is entirely possible, perhaps even likely, that the economic losses will accelerate in the 3Q, due in large part to the zealousness of “officials” to destroy the economy based on what appears in hindsight to be nothing more serious than a “bad flu season.”

In the meantime, we fight with each other over bits of cloth covering our faces.

Let me put it in plain English so that everyone can understand it. It is the destruction of the economy and the accompanying societal breakdowns which are the existential threats to our way of life. Compared to what is coming, Covid-19 is a sideshow.

Where we go from here is not certain, but my guess (projection, prediction) is that it is going to be a rough, wild ride.