There was, of course, massive inflation in the post 2008 QE period - it just didn’t appear in CPI as the money never went near the kind of people (us) that drive up everyday prices. Instead it was retained within the financial system - not only banks plugging their balance sheet holes but to the stock market investors and especially to the likes of Blackrock who, with their access to practically endless near-free money for 15 years, have been (still are) on the biggest spending spree in history. Result - the most grotesque distortion / reallocation of wealth in history. A process which continues near-unabated.
Obviously the only difference this time is that the money was given to people who actually needed to spend it quick on real goods, thereby initiating the ongoing inflationary surge. If people - ordinary people, not the Finks of the world - had been warned back in 2020 that shutting the economy and giving them free money was likely to (as it always was) lead to multi year inflation and their consequent immiserisation, they might have been less keen to support the insanity of lockdowns.
How does tether fiasco prove corruption in bitcoin? IDK much about crypto but it seems to me that a ponzi involving gold doesn't tarnish gold itself. Am I wrong on that?
The creation of fake money (tether) out of the nether is used to pump up crypto prices on the exchanges which accept tether (including coinbase and binance). Tether is supposed to be back 1:1 with actual USD, but the vast majority of tether are unbacked, tether has never passed an audit, and its affiliates are regularly charged with crimes. You should understand the scale of it: tether's daily trading volume is greater than the rest of the top 10 coins *combined*. Leaked tether executive texts expressed worry that if tether failed, BTC price could drop below $1,000.
So while bitcoin itself is not corrupted, its *pricing* has been.
I hope your optimism for the future is warranted. History would seem to indicate that that the odds are not favourable. The 1879 US renaissance was closer to a one off. Hard times are also fertile ground for the worst of the sociopaths amongst us - and as current event show - humanity never seems to learn when their own ever present tribalist instincts are drawn out and manipulated for the gain of others. Given the presence of world changing/ending weapons and technology- times have never been riper for the sociopaths amongst us. The world may be heading instead for a new dark age that may take decades or longer to emerge from...
Excellent! Very well explained, Professor St Onge! If gold was at $42 per oz. when Pres. Nixon went off the gold standard, and gold is now about $2,000 per oz., that is about 48X. How high would the price of gold have to be set if the US went back on the gold standard and the US revalued the price of gold to eliminate all of the US debt? According to Mr. Jim Rickards, it would just require making a simple bookkeeping entry....if the US actually still has any gold left. Never audited.....
Wow! I'll have to read that again, and again, and again, and pass it along to friends, and have them read it again, and again, and again.... nice to have a final ray of possible hope no matter the realities. Greed is inherently and so utterly shortsighted!
It is too bad that politicians either don’t understand or care about economics. Every government largesse, be it war or “free” medical care, good or bad ideas, just adds to the debt/deficit and hence to the end of the book...not good!
It isn't really SOVEREIGN debt because sovereigns are CREDITORS, not debtors. The fiat money, including the digital version in banks, Federal Reserve (promissory) Notes, are doled out based on the money derived from the bonds controlled by THE US TREASURY created and traded on the citizens of the world when their birth certificates were issued. They don't want you to know that or realize that you are not the debtor and can access your minor estate once you have reached the age of 18. When you borrow money from a bank, they issue you the money from YOUR bond account (your SSN) and then make you pay it back WITH INTEREST.
It is FRAUD that is eating the world and we need to wake up and take charge.
The best description of how we got here - Coupled wit Russell Napier’s description of the Asian Sovereign debt crisis in the late 90’s as ‘paving the way for the age of debt’.
Since DEBT is the WEALTH of the Secular Ruling Families (owners of the Monetary System - one simple example - https://postlmg.cc/McZPNzZG ) it's clear that it will keep on growing...
When They wish They'll perform a reset to Their main system. And well... we all (very tiny minority in fact) know how those always end for the rest of us!
There was, of course, massive inflation in the post 2008 QE period - it just didn’t appear in CPI as the money never went near the kind of people (us) that drive up everyday prices. Instead it was retained within the financial system - not only banks plugging their balance sheet holes but to the stock market investors and especially to the likes of Blackrock who, with their access to practically endless near-free money for 15 years, have been (still are) on the biggest spending spree in history. Result - the most grotesque distortion / reallocation of wealth in history. A process which continues near-unabated.
Obviously the only difference this time is that the money was given to people who actually needed to spend it quick on real goods, thereby initiating the ongoing inflationary surge. If people - ordinary people, not the Finks of the world - had been warned back in 2020 that shutting the economy and giving them free money was likely to (as it always was) lead to multi year inflation and their consequent immiserisation, they might have been less keen to support the insanity of lockdowns.
Nice post, but Bitcoin and all of crypto is corrupted via the Tether scam, which makes SBF's FTX scam look like a drop in the bucket.
How does tether fiasco prove corruption in bitcoin? IDK much about crypto but it seems to me that a ponzi involving gold doesn't tarnish gold itself. Am I wrong on that?
The creation of fake money (tether) out of the nether is used to pump up crypto prices on the exchanges which accept tether (including coinbase and binance). Tether is supposed to be back 1:1 with actual USD, but the vast majority of tether are unbacked, tether has never passed an audit, and its affiliates are regularly charged with crimes. You should understand the scale of it: tether's daily trading volume is greater than the rest of the top 10 coins *combined*. Leaked tether executive texts expressed worry that if tether failed, BTC price could drop below $1,000.
So while bitcoin itself is not corrupted, its *pricing* has been.
You can read more about the scam here: https://neofeudalreview.substack.com/p/misconceptions-regarding-viewing
Caveat emptor...
Thank you.
Interesting points about learning the wrong lessons from Japan and 2008. And I love the optimism of this article, we need more of that these days.
I hope your optimism for the future is warranted. History would seem to indicate that that the odds are not favourable. The 1879 US renaissance was closer to a one off. Hard times are also fertile ground for the worst of the sociopaths amongst us - and as current event show - humanity never seems to learn when their own ever present tribalist instincts are drawn out and manipulated for the gain of others. Given the presence of world changing/ending weapons and technology- times have never been riper for the sociopaths amongst us. The world may be heading instead for a new dark age that may take decades or longer to emerge from...
That was brilliant bravo and thank you
Excellent! Very well explained, Professor St Onge! If gold was at $42 per oz. when Pres. Nixon went off the gold standard, and gold is now about $2,000 per oz., that is about 48X. How high would the price of gold have to be set if the US went back on the gold standard and the US revalued the price of gold to eliminate all of the US debt? According to Mr. Jim Rickards, it would just require making a simple bookkeeping entry....if the US actually still has any gold left. Never audited.....
Thank you for mentioning “hope” as in after the civil war. Blessings!
What if we’re in a new era where the delusions are so strong that people will just keep spending and printing forever?
Wow! I'll have to read that again, and again, and again, and pass it along to friends, and have them read it again, and again, and again.... nice to have a final ray of possible hope no matter the realities. Greed is inherently and so utterly shortsighted!
It is too bad that politicians either don’t understand or care about economics. Every government largesse, be it war or “free” medical care, good or bad ideas, just adds to the debt/deficit and hence to the end of the book...not good!
It isn't really SOVEREIGN debt because sovereigns are CREDITORS, not debtors. The fiat money, including the digital version in banks, Federal Reserve (promissory) Notes, are doled out based on the money derived from the bonds controlled by THE US TREASURY created and traded on the citizens of the world when their birth certificates were issued. They don't want you to know that or realize that you are not the debtor and can access your minor estate once you have reached the age of 18. When you borrow money from a bank, they issue you the money from YOUR bond account (your SSN) and then make you pay it back WITH INTEREST.
It is FRAUD that is eating the world and we need to wake up and take charge.
The universe is transactional. This will end poorly for all subscribed to debt.
The best description of how we got here - Coupled wit Russell Napier’s description of the Asian Sovereign debt crisis in the late 90’s as ‘paving the way for the age of debt’.
A great observation I heard recently:
The UK has to borrow ALL the money to pay the interest on its National Debt.
That is the end of days.
Great article. Nice tie in of the Dollar Milkshake Theory. I've just been wrapping my mind around that concept. Fascinating.
Brent predicts that both the dollar and gold (and Bitcoin) will rise together, which does appear to be happening now.
Since DEBT is the WEALTH of the Secular Ruling Families (owners of the Monetary System - one simple example - https://postlmg.cc/McZPNzZG ) it's clear that it will keep on growing...
When They wish They'll perform a reset to Their main system. And well... we all (very tiny minority in fact) know how those always end for the rest of us!