In fact I did read his article and I stand by my assessment. It is not an analysis it is sophistry. I say this even though I made it clear that I'm predisposed to agree with him. I'm not challenging his conclusion but his scholarship.
Posted on 06/06/2009 8:53:17 AM PDT by kellynla
It’s the end of the world as the Greater Depression hits after 2010’s failed “W-recovery”
Human Events had the opportunity to interview forecaster extraordinaire Gerald Celente, President of Trends Research Institute, several days ago -- and the future he predicts looks bleak indeed. In fact, as Mr. Celente sees it, the Great Depression will seem like a mild recession as what waits for us in 2011 hits with the force of a Katrina financial hurricane.
In case you’re wondering who Mr. Celente is (if this is still possible), he’s appeared -- along with his predictions -- on Oprah, CNBC, Reuters, NBC, PBS, BBC, the Glenn Beck Show -- the list goes on an on. His Trends Report has been successfully predicting the major future trends impacting our lives for 3 decades, including calling the dot com crash back in the 1990's.
Mr. Celente's forecast on our impending future is based on his study of history. He says we are bent on destroying our currency, bankrupting our government, and unleashing a violent citizen-against-citizen eruption as the economy collapses into chaos and marshal law fascism.
Quite a claim. And God help us if he is right -- again.
“We’re sounding the alarm about the ongoing downward economic cycle”, Gerald told Human Events. “In 2002, we predicted that the collapse of the American empire would fall like the World Trade Center in a thunderous crash -- in slow motion before our eyes. And now it’s happening.”
Mr. Celente follows over 300 trends: family, crime, war, education, consumer & business patterns which TRI synthesizes to predict the future.
“The US is becoming a shadow of what it used to be. Take education for example. The OECD group of developed countries ranks quality of life, education, health care of its member nations. The US is now falling down the table as one piece of data after another shows America is in decline. We’re no longer Win, Place or Show in quality of life, education, longevity… all the essentials where we used to be #1. And our economic underpinnings are failing.”
Mr. Celente puts part of the blame squarely on the federal government, and especially FED Chairman Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Geithner, and warns us not to believe a word they say “They’re the same people who didn't see it coming - are now telling us the worst is over, that ‘green shoots are spouting upwards’. But they were wrong before. They’re wrong on this too”.
“When you pump out tons of money manure into this system based on nothing – printing press paper, it’s like giving a patient with a chronic disease a pain killer -- it won’t cure the patient.”
“But let’s go beyond the economics. Our whole Constitution has been abrogated. The president simply writes an Executive Order to do whatever he wants. Nationalize the banks, take over the insurance industry, automobile industry, health care industry… None of it is constitutional.”
When did the problem begin?
“After Dwight Eisenhower -- our last great president -- the Allied Supreme Commander in WWII – who warned us of the dangers of the military-industrial complex. We've become completely corrupted.”
“We became enmeshed in foreign entanglements. We forgot the lesson of England - and how their global imperial overreach destroyed their empire.”
Of course, the average American doesn’t think that we’re an empire. We’re not like the classical empires of old - raping, pillaging and stealing the wealth of invaded peoples. What does Mr. Celente have to say about this?
“What we’re doing is squandering our wealth, our resources, the genius of our scientists and the future of our children. We’re over-consuming in every way -- but under consuming our education and focusing on the quantity, not the quality, of what we’ve built. So much of today’s culture is counter-productive to what American built it’s foundation on -- a high-quality producing nation building things, not pushing paper.
"And we’ve become not only a consumer society but a low-quality consumer, as well as the most obese society in the world, eating low-quality high-carb, high-fat processed foods.”
“We’re now focused on the lowest cost, the lowest common denominator. Not the best and highest quality. We advertise buying cheapest as the most important thing.”
Mr. Celente argues that we’ve socially destroyed our productivity and have abandoned it to other countries.
“And we have fallen into a moral vacuum. Look at how people used to dress. Smartly. Not like the cheap hoods of today. Fashion now copies the lowest common denominator. Our children wear clothes without belts, and shoes without shoelaces, to copy the styles of the violent criminals -- who have these items removed by the police in prison so they can’t be used as weapons. That’s become the fashion statement of today’s youth. Like rap music from the ghetto. We’ve become an underdeveloped nation.”
Mr. Celente observes that "people used to think of America as that shining beacon on the hill with 'liberty and justice for all…' ." So what happened?
"Morality is missing from our American public consciousness. Start with Wall Street. It’s run by a criminal gang. The only question is ‘how much can you make, how much can you steal?’ At the bottom, the welfare recipient says ‘how much can I take?’ And the government is in on the take."
“Morality is absolutely the issue. We had a government where we were taught all our lives that we are a free enterprise system -- so we depend on our own strength, our entrepreneurial ideas. The world used to look to us for our innovative spirit.”
“This is being destroyed before our eyes. And our government has become more interventionist than any of the old empires could imagine.”
"Our society is now based on consumption -- 70% of the GDP. This is more than we produce. So to pay our bills, we use funny money invented in 1913 with the creation of the Federal Reserve and the fiat dollar based on credit (debt) -- the fractional reserve system. In 1930's you bought what you could afford. You saved up to buy your home. The easy credit of the 90's has destroyed the country. Now you borrow what you can’t afford - and the nation’s done the same."
Mr. Celente predicts the use of printing press money will cause the "greater depression".
"I predict continuing deflation of real estate, followed by extreme currency inflation -- ultimately becoming worthless. This is why gold is the only honest money -- the government can't counterfeit it. Look for it to top at least $2000 an ounce"
"Our unemployment numbers are also bogus. For example, the construction industry is really above 20% , and the government is creating low-level jobs, not real jobs. The US total real unemployment is more like 16%. Before the crisis is over, it will reach 25% - great depression numbers."
"When people have lost everything they have nothing to lose. Violence and crime will explode. Look at the OECD figures. The number of people not graduating from high school is exploding -- they're wacked out on drugs. New York City will look like Mexico City in a few years. The collapse of morality from top down -- and especially in the government -- makes it inevitable."
"What can we expect in the coming future", we asked.
"Washington has declared 'Economic Martial Law'. Wall Street is putting Main Street out of business. The key to watch is Christmas sales. They’ll fail. Christmas will be when reality sets in."
"Another trend we wrote about over 2 years ago was the tax revolt. What’s happened? Tax revenues have collapsed by 33%. And the wealthy people are leaving."
"We predict state secessionist movements will rival the breakup of the Soviet Union."
"The only way we can ever recover is to return to individual community, personal responsibility, local government. Next, average will disappear, Quality will return. Look at GM. Junk cars financed by junk bonds. Now owned by a junk government. As a consumer, don’t consume quantity -- consume quality."
"How will it all end?", we queried. Will the dollar survive?
"The dot com bubble should have burst and gone away in a short sharp recession. But the boys at the Fed re-inflated the economy by lowering interest rates to a 46 year low -- and in turn created the real estate bubble -- much bigger than the dot com bubble. "
"Now they’re creating the bailout bubble -- which will ultimately dwarf the real estate bubble. It will cause the implosion of the global economy world wide -- which will not be able to be repaired by creating yet another bubble. Every time the government fails, it tells a bigger lie and then a still bigger lie."
"These previous bubbles were not allowed to pop -- but they didn’t destroy the infrastructure of the country. This bailout bubble will."
"But this bubble will be the last one. After the final blowout of the bailout bubble, we are concerned that the government will take the nation into war. This is a historical precedent that’s been done over and over again."
"So, it’s not that the dollar that will survive. We may not even survive. Look at the German mess after WWI. It gave rise to Fascism and WWII. The next war will be fought with weapons of mass destruction."
American 'Liberal Fascism' ? Is it possible? Jonah Goldberg's bestseller raised the alarm two years ago.
I have a great deal of respect for Celente but this kind of talk gives me pause. For cryin' out loud our life expectancy is remarkable. Some people may make a diet of junk food but it is hardly fair to describe our overall food supply as low quality.
I expect that if he would look at the data he would find that we have a lot of obese citizens who live surprisingly long lives. Our medical system is that good.
Whatever you do, don't look up the definition of fascism. It looks too much like where we're headed.
In fact I did read his article and I stand by my assessment. It is not an analysis it is sophistry. I say this even though I made it clear that I'm predisposed to agree with him. I'm not challenging his conclusion but his scholarship.
Not a fan here:
Gerald Celente, Futurist Fraud
Written by Edward Champion
Posted on November 13, 2008
Filed Under Celente, Gerald, Futurism, PHonies
The crazed doom-and-gloom prophets of our world have this troubling ability to occupy the airwaves, becoming strangely confused with qualified experts.
Gerald Celente is the latest soothsayer operating on his hunches — now being celebrated on Digg, Reddit, and just about every damn aggregator imaginable.
His predictions sound suspiciously similar to the storyline for Brian Francis Slattery’s excellent new novel, Liberation, but Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, is determined to deliver. By 2012, Celente forecasts revolution in America, food riots, and tax rebellions. In four years, America will become an undeveloped nation. Holidays will be about food rather than gifts. Mass hysteria, dogs and cats living together. Doom and gloom.
http://www.edrants.com/gerald-celente-futurist-fraud/
As I understand it, Liberal Fascism came out in paperback just this week.
I hope people wake up for the 2010 elections and certainly when Bambi runs for his second term. If we don’t clean out Congress including more than a few RINOs and get rid of Obama we will be living in what will resemble East Germany by 2016. Even if we succeed in throwing out the Pelosi/Reid/Obama cabal it will take decades to undo the mess they have made of the US economy. I am soon moving to northern Minnesota and will be glad to be far away from places like Minneapolis because I see serious urban unrest as a result of Obama’s whipping up class warfare.
Those parasites include the majority of citizens always looking for a way to get something for nothing and the government to take care of them
yeaaaaaaaaa right!
"I made it clear that I'm predisposed to agree with him?”
but you say “it is sophistry?”
"scholarship?" you , "Mr. Spelling Bee Champion" talking about anyone's "scholarship" is RICH!
Now, you reeeeeeeeeeely are wasting my time. LOL
And yes! I am LAUGHING AT YOU!
cyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Observations.
1. His basic rationale may be sound be he takes it to extreme extremes.
2. His belicose rantings about American culture sound like what I read here everyday. Unfortunately that stuff is written by the biggest idiots on FR.
3.This guy should be on Art Bell.
“”When people have lost everything they have nothing to lose. Violence and crime will explode. The number of people not graduating from high school is exploding — they’re wacked out on drugs. New York City will look like Mexico City in a few years. The collapse of morality from top down — and especially in the government — makes it inevitable.””
Wish I could disagree!
Another dimension to ‘dumbing down’ is the fact of biology they are dumb.
Or maybe Biden’s three partition plan.
Sooner or later, peaceably or not, there WILL be separation. With America in the shape its in and the direction it is heading, separation is inevitable.
Okay, if you go to the grocery today,
you could eliminate 85% of the store...
I only go to the dairy section for nonfat milk, O.J. & eggs
, then to fruits & veggies section, the meat & fish department and finally pick up some wheat bread & Saltines on the way out... the rest of the store is filled with what we call in the Marine Corps, “pogey bait!” LOL
This kind of skews everything else in the piece. If he doesn't classify Reagan as a great president, where else is he wrong?
Time to head for the hills!
forest from the trees comes to mind. LOL
Why are you so angry? Do you have so much invested in this man's punditry that you cannot accept criticism not of his conclusions but of his methodology? Why do you care so much?
Although I freely confess to being spelling challenged even with the use of voice recognition software-which does not necessarily know proper names and thus accounts in truth for the misspelling of Mr. Celente's name, for which declension you brand me a liar-but I am a reasonably competent reader of the English language. Nevertheless, I am at a loss to know what you mean when you wrote:
cyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
I presume that is not a spelling error but has some sort of meaning in the English language.
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