After the Collapse: Six Likely Events That Will Follow an Economic Crash

It’s not too difficult to understand that we are well on our way to a paradigm shift in America; in fact we’re in the midst of it right now. The writing is on the wall and can no longer be ignored.

The US government has run up trillions of dollars in debt, and given the recent debates over the country’s debt ceiling, we can rest assured that neither Congress or the President will act to curtail spending and balance the budget. We will continue adding trillions of dollars to the national debt clock until such time that our creditors no longer lend us money.

From the monetary side, the Federal Reserve’s response to this unprecedented crisis has been to simply “print” more money as is necessary. On top of the trillions in dollars already printed thus far, the Fed continues quantitative easing to the tune of about $80 billion per month. It’s the only arrow left in the Fed’s quiver, because failing to inject these billions into stock markets and banks will lead to an almost instant collapse of the U.S. financial system. Unfortunately, the current strategy is chock full of its own pitfalls, the least of which being the real possibility of a hyperinflationary environment developing over coming months and years.

On Main Street, average Americans have seen their wealth decimated. They’ve lost millions of jobs and homes over the course of the last five years. And if recent reports are any indication, the destruction of the middle class will continue unabated for years to come. The resulting effect is a vicious negative feedback loop that continues to build upon itself. Americans no longer have money (or credit) to spend to prop up the economy, thus more jobs will be lost, leading to more people requiring government assistance for everything from food to shelter.

As noted by International Man Jeff Thomas of Casey Research, it’s not that difficult of an exercise to predict what’s coming next:

The number of people whose eyes have been opened seems to be growing, and many of them are asking what the collapse will look like as it unfolds. What will the symptoms be?

Well, the primary events are fairly predictable: they would include major collapses in the bond and stock markets and possible sudden deflation (primarily of assets), followed by dramatic inflation, if not hyperinflation (primarily of commodities), followed by a crash of several major currencies, particularly the euro and the US dollar.

We know a collapse is coming… If you’re paying attention you probably have the distinct feeling that we are in the middle of it right now. And guess what? The government and military know it’s coming too, as evidenced by large-scale simulations of exactly such an event and its fallout.

But the collapse of our financial system, or hyperinflation of our currency, or a meltdown in US Treasuries is only the beginning. We know some or all of these events are all but a foregone conclusion.

What we don’t know is the timing of the trigger event that causes the global panic to ensue and what will happen after these primary events take hold.

According to Jeff Thomas, while we can’t know for sure, the following “secondary events” are the most likely outcomes when the system as we have come to know it destabilizes.

The secondary events will be less certain, but likely: increased unemployment, currency controls, protective tariffs, severe depression, etc.

But, along the way, there will be numerous surprises—actions taken by governments that may be as unprecedented as they would be unlawful. Why? Because, again, such actions are the norm when a government finds itself losing its grip over the people it perceives as its minions. Here are a few:

◾Travel Restrictions. This will begin with restrictions on foreign travel, including suspension/removal of passports. (This has begun in a small way in both the EU and US.) Later, travel restrictions will be extended within the boundaries of countries (highway checkpoints, etc.)
◾Confiscation of wealth. The EU has instituted the confiscation of bank accounts, which can be expected to become an international form of governmental theft. This does not automatically mean that other assets, such as precious metals and real estate will also be confiscated, but it does mean that the barrier for confiscation has been eliminated. There is therefore no reason to assume that any asset is safe from any government that approves theft through bail-ins.
◾Food Shortages. The food industry operates on very small profit margins and survives only as a result of quick payment of invoices. With dramatic inflation, marginal businesses (suppliers, wholesalers, and retailers) will fall by the wayside. The percentage of failing businesses will be dependent upon the duration and severity of the inflationary trend.
◾Squatters Rebellions. A dramatic increase in the number of home and business foreclosures will result in homelessness for anyone whose debt exceeds his ability to pay—even those who presently appear to be well-off. As numbers rise significantly, a new homeless class will be created amongst the former middle class. As they become more numerous, large scale ownership of property may give way to large scale “possession” of property.
◾Riots. These will likely happen spontaneously due to the above conditions, but if not, governments will create them to justify their desire for greater control of the masses.
◾Martial Law. The US has already prepared for this, with the passing of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which many interpret as declaring the US to be a “battlefield.” The NDAA allows the suspension of habeas corpus, indefinite detention, and the assumption that any resident may be considered an enemy combatant. Similar legislation may be expected in other countries that perceive martial law as a solution to civil unrest.

The above list is purposely brief—a sampling of eventualities that, should they occur, will almost definitely come unannounced. As the decline unfolds, they will surely happen with greater frequency.

We could go point by point on this list and provide a plethora of evidence to validate Jeff’s claims, but that would take pages upon pages of references.

The fact is that the US government, for the last decade, has been moving increasingly closer to what can only be described as a police state. With watch lists, militarized police departments, legislative actions, and executive orders the government has already set the stage for these secondary events.

When the system itself is no longer able to support the tens of millions of Americans receiving monthly government assistance, one hiccup could set the whole thing ablaze.

While it can’t be avoided on a national scale, there are advance preparations that individuals and their families can make to, at the very least, insulate themselves from the secondary event triggers. This includes storing essential physical goods and keeping them in your possession. Things like long-term food supplies, barterable goods, monetary goods, self defense armaments and having a well thought out preparedness plan will, if nothing else, provide you with the means necessary to stay out of the way it all hits the fan.

I agree. There seems to be a great deal of dystopian fantasy in the anti-bullion crowd. Markets and trade will reform even in the worst case scenario. Barter may be important in the short term, but is impractical for even a minimum of societal recovery.

If someone contracts me to bring back up their power system, I am not going to take Bic Lighters or chickens. They better have gold and silver bullion at a minimum. The Dentist I go to afterwards will also laugh when I offer to pay in Bic Lighters and chickens. You can be assured gold and silver will get that tooth fixed.

I am also certain that Banks will also reopen with either local or regional script backed by gold and silver deposits. Let's hope this time, we are very unyielding on fractionalization of the new currency.

Good post!

I suppose we could use debit cards that transfer the ownership of some decimal number of grams of Gold or Silver in our bullion account to our dentist’s account.

The technology is all there - but of course we’d still be relying on the integrity of the daily audit of the private vault(s) where we kept our stuff.

Confiscation of wealth. The EU has instituted the confiscation of bank accounts, which can be expected to become an international form of governmental theft. This does not automatically mean that other assets, such as precious metals and real estate will also be confiscated, but it does mean that the barrier for confiscation has been eliminated. There is therefore no reason to assume that any asset is safe from any government that approves theft through bail-ins.

They’ve already signaled this:

IMF Paper: Debt-Ridden Western Nations May Resort to ‘Financial Repression’
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-hollingsworth/imf-paper-debt-ridden-western-nations-may-resort-financial
(CNSNews.com) – The highest debt-to-GDP levels in 200 years could force advanced Western nations to adopt “financial repression” measures typically reserved for economically unstable debtor nations, including mass write-offs and a tax on savings, warns a working paper published last week by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The lesson of Cyprus is that - as far as possible - nothing whatever should be left in any bank.

The most vicious enemy we’ll face as we pass into this new world will be the increasingly lawless and desperate Government.

And at least half of the population will always be on the Government’s side - eager to take whatever ‘the rich people’ have.

The Nation will swing left—to the point of Communism, then violence, maybe Civil War, and then head right—with a charismatic Leader of some sort. One Left wing think tank had Glen Beck as the supream Leader of a Facisit State—We would be lucky to have him. I hope for a franco or Peron rather than a Hitler. It will be fifty years before Democracy is re-established in America. People will flee to Mexico and Cuba for political freedom. 2018 is my guess.

One Left wing think tank had Glen Beck as the supreme Leader of a Facist State

Do they know that the Fascists (under Mussolini), the National Socialists (Hitler), the Peronists and the Soviets were all left wing?

The Left wing is all about totalitarian state control of wealth and wealth production - and the primacy of collective (and so-called minority) rights.

The Right wing is about having as small a state apparatus as possible. The Right wing champions the primacy of individual rights (this is the only true form of minority rights as individuals are the smallest minority of all.)

Don't fall for the Left wing's definition of fascism. If the Government controls the means of wealth production, then it is a fascist state.

Your Government is printing 75B a month and giving massive transfer payments to its political clients, while using the IRS and EPA to punish opponents of the regime.

Which is another way of saying: you are in a fascist state right now, right this minute.

The handwriting is on the wall – and at the top of the list are the words Cloward-Piven.

Recall that this is a regime that came into being on the back of a crisis – a “Serious Crisis” that they used to full advantage.

Is there any doubt they won’t try that again?

Two themes have been forefront the past few weeks – one the supposed wealth inequality BS and the Dear Liar’s threats to use executive orders to get what he wants.

BTW, I’ve been meaning to post a similar thread on these issues – thank you for doing it for me.

Everyone needs to spread the word on this very real possibility to lessen it’s effects and to dampen the regime’s use of it.

Agreed!

The Left relies on 'Hurt and Rescue' tactics.

Clinton created the conditions for Too Big to Fail: and they blossomed into 'necessary' Government intervention at the end of 2008, then QE1, QE2 etc. The US has yet to feel the full force of that debacle - when the dollar finally loses reserve status.

Now the Left are hurting healthcare in order to 'rescue' it with single payer.

I'm not sure that income inequality will be their weapon: I think its just a distraction from the ongoing healthcare fiasco.

But I could certainly be wrong - Obama is just crazy enough to try raising the minimum wage by fiat, or to try unconstitutionally imposing the forms of financial repression that have crashed and burned in France or Venezuela.

It's getting late. Good night all.

I think that the wealth inequality BS has several facets to it.

1) Of course is a distraction from the rest of the regime’s total screw-ups – that’s a given.
2) But it also a ‘populist’ theme that tells the Low info voters – hey, vote for us and we’ll steal from those evil rich folks and give you some of the loot.

And most importantly:

3) It set’s the ground work for a massive wealth redistribution effort in form of write-off from loans – like student loans - and the seizing of savings.

You are quite correct.

I completely blanked on this for some reason, but Governments around the world are maneuvering to steal our pensions and our bank accounts. Some are proposing wealth taxes. The wealth inequality polemic is an integral part of this class warfare.

We are in the final act of the Age of Theft when Governments declare an open war of enslavement against humanity.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.