Where is this economic collapse so many are saying will happen?

[eekitsagreek]

If you go to different websites or listen to certain radio hosts, there is a lot of discussion of "economic collapse", "dollar collapse" or "petrodollar collapse" and so forth. They make it sound like we will end up like the Weimar Republic with people carrying their worthless money in wheelbarrows.

I am not an economics expert (nor do I play one online), but are we really heading for collapse or is it all a bunch of talk? I know we have a huge debt problem, but we keep printing money. How long can this keep going? I am confused!

Any insights from those knowledgeable in economics or finance is appreciated.

[Mister Da]

I think one of the things propping up the dollar & our economy is the world economy which depends on the dollar as the base currency that all others are valued against. That dependence gives stability to the dollar.

If our economy collapses & the dollar radically inflates or deflates, the world economy will collapse, too.

[Mister Da]

The Rats have already started the war. The ME & Africa are in chaos.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

So you think the feral government can continue to pump air into the stock market forever with no repercussion?

[dennisw]

Fracking is boosting the USD and US economy for the time being. But more important has been the Federal Reserve flooding the system with phony money since 2008. They have successfully pulled this off so far even with rising prices

This FR money torrent has driven the stock market and goosed housing in many areas. Phoney Obama/phony money/ but so far the hypnotizable sheeple are accepting both and chewing their cud peacefully. Only a black swan event will jolt them out of this hypnotic state, due to half of modern economics is the psychological state of consumer happiness and confidence due to our economy being a consumer driven one.

[T-Bone Texan]

I read a comment somewhere that made a lot of sense:

As long as America can project its military force around the globe, our dollar will maintain value, because folks will have confidence in it. Not American folks, but people all over the planet. Foreigners know that the dollar is not backed by gold, but rather our power.

However, once we pull our military back to our shores and cease a global presence, the confidence in the dollar will plummet for both Akbar and Jeff.

Many lesser-developed societies use the dollar to transact business, and supposedly most $100 bills in circulation are not even inside America, because people in lesser-developed countries would rather conduct high-value transactions (like buying a car or a burro) with US dollars.

So, besides QE and the the machinations of the elites, the value of our money is influenced by people living in 2nd and 3rd world.

[Georgia Girl 2]

You will know it when you see it. :-)

[moovova]

Ask yourself...

“If I ran my family’s home like the federal government runs it’s house...could my home survive without hurting a lot of people?”

I think you know the answer to that question.

[dennisw]

“However, once we pull our military back to our shores and cease a global presence, the confidence in the dollar will plummet for both Akbar and Jeff.”

Our strong military that can project force keeps the dollar strong. Japs keep 1 trillion in US Treasuries as a quid pro quo for our forces giving them an umbrella (nuclear and otherwise) against China....though Obama obviously cannot be trusted on this

Stoooopid libs trying to ruin our militarily with Ebola duty and gay marriage don’t know that part of their high standard of living comes from a strong USD which is kept strong by our military force projection capability

[Wheelman81]

The problem is that “The Economy” is a massive, complex system that is prone to random shocks. We can observe general tendencies: (i.e.) lower tax rates tend to produce more economic growth, revenue to the government, etc. Likewise, we know that you can’t spend more than you earn indefinitely, but be skeptical of claims to precisely predict the collapse. Making predictions about even the simplest things becomes difficult the broader and more complex the system. So-called experts boast of their predictive abilities, but it mostly comes down to luck (and too small a data sample). Check out Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s trio of books for elegant illustrations of the problem: Fooled By Randomness, The Black Swan, and Antifragile.

[Prophet2520]

By some standards the economic crash was in 1987 and economic disaster has persisted ever since. Only the proliferation of the internet in the 1990's ( a real economic game changer) alleviated to some degree the problem. "The Great Depression of 1990" book was largely right in that sense.

GDP changes

Real Income

Net worth per GDP stable for decades til recently

See this data too: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/10965052/Bank-for-International-Settlements-fears-fresh-Lehman-crisis-from-worldwide-debt-surge.html

We have a usury based system which must have boom and bust. They are trying to get more sophisticated at controlling it while increasing the degree of leverage. It makes it more and more fragile. If the wrong domino falls it could be very bad at any time.

Regarding the cost of goods: According to the IRS (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/08rpsoi90.pdf) 1913 mean income $10,894 in 2008 dollars

$1 in 1913 was equal to 23.53 dollars in 2013 http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

1913 income 10,894 * 2013 inflation of 23.53 = $256,336

2013 Mean income $87,200 http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2014/pdf/scf14.pdf

That means the 2013 mean buying power is theoretically about one third of today's mean buying power. But a few factors come into play. Some essentials have gone down in relative price.

gallon of milk would cost $8.47 if applying the inflation rate http://inflationdata.com/articles/2013/03/21/food-price-inflation-1913/ a dozen eggs would be $8.78 butter, rice, ham, sugar are all much cheaper now than they would be if the full 2352% increase were applied

On the flip side, mean income is not median income. Since 1970 wealth has been increasing centered in the wealthy. So median income is well below mean income. In other words what the typical American makes is likely to be lower than the mean income which is skewed by the super rich.

[TurboZamboni]

I like the guy named “Frank” and his email videos about secret whatever and “get this now before it’s too late!”

[SamAdams76]

Yes, and don't forget all those gold dealers who are always predicting a financial collapse - yet they are so eager to take your "soon to be worthless" dollars in exchange for their precious gold.

I always wondered why more didn't see through that.

[TurboZamboni]

“revealing FEMA’s plot could get me in hot water”...

[blam]

"I have a book on my shelf: Bankruptcy, 1995. "

I have that same book.

[free_life]

Ps 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

One of hundreds maybe thousands of scriptures that say we can trust God for all things, that we have perfect safety in Him. From what I see in scripture and in my life He cares about more than just our souls.

[Arthur McGowan]

People have frozen to death, starved, been put in ovens, etc., throughout history. We have no guarantee that God will keep us physically comfortable or safe.

No doubt, we should thank God for such gifts, and ask him for such gifts.

Anytime the Scripture speaks of God’s keeping us ABSOLUTELY safe, it is speaking of the salvation of our souls. If it talks about being physically safe, then it is using physical safety as a metaphor for spiritual safety.

[GeronL]

So far it has been a pretty steady descent instead of a sudden collapse. Ever notice food and energy prices? Rising prices are a sign of a weaker dollar. The less the dollar is worth the higher the prices go to make up the difference.

[GeronL]

middle class savings have virtually vanished in the past several years

and if you don’t think that is a really bad economic sign, I don’t know what to say

[GeronL]

stretching it out makes it worse really, see The Great Depression

Letting it happen fast and then getting back to work is what should happen

[Mad Dawgg]

When the foodstamp cards can’t buy enough food and booze for the “Gibsmedats” because inflation has put a months supply of food out of reach, then you will see the shit hit the fan. It will be very fast. Watch for the Credit/Debit/EBT card system go black because there will be “Runs” on food and everything else. This event will make the supply runs before a storm/hurricane look miniscule by comparison.