20 reasons Global Debt Time Bomb explodes soon

[Rajiv]

By Paul Farrell

Which trigger will ignite the Great Depression II?

Retire? You can fuggetaboutit if the new Global Debt Time Bomb is detonated by any one of 20 made-in-America trigger mechanisms.

Yes, 20. And yes, any one can destroy your retirement because all 20 are inexorably linked, a house-of-cards, a circular firing squad destined to self-destruct, triggering the third great Wall Street meltdown of the 21st century, igniting the Great Depression II that George W. Bush, Ben Bernanke, Henry Paulson and now President Obama have simply delayed with their endless knee-jerk, debt-laden wars, stimulus bonanzas and bailouts.

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Forbes discovered the trigger mechanism in "This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly," by economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff: The "90% ratio of government debt to GDP is a tipping point in economic growth." For 800 years "you increase it over and beyond a high threshold, and boom!" Well guess what? "The U.S. government-debt-to-GDP ratio is 84%." Soon, Ka-Booom! Depression. Kiss your retirement goodbye.

Who knows? Forbes? Bloomberg BusinessWeek? The Economist? Davos-World Economic Forum? True, they're all looking at the same plot line for a Hollywood blockbuster about the "Global Debt Time Bomb."

But the financial press navigates in a fog. There's not just one, but many triggers, all linked in a lethal network. We've reported on it for years. Now you tell us: What triggers this firestorm?

Poll: 20 economic weapons of mass destruction triggering ticking Global Debt Time Bomb

1. Federal Budget Deficit Bomb.
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2. U.S. Foreign Trade Bomb.
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3. Weakening U.S. Dollar as Foreign Reserve Currency Bomb.
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4. Cheap Money Bomb: Credit Ratings Down, Rates Up.
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5. Global Real Estate Bomb.
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6. Peak Oil and the Population Bomb.
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7. Social Security Bomb.
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8. Medicare: A Nuclear Bomb.
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9. Health-care Insurance Bomb.
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10. State and Local Government Budget Bombs
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11. Underfunded Corporate Pensions Bomb.
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12. Consumer Debt Bomb.
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13. Personal Savings Bomb.
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14. War and Military Defense Deficits.
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15. Homeland Insecurity Bomb.
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16. Fed/Treasury Bailout Bombs.
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17. Insatiable Washington Lobbyists Bombs.
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18. Shadow Banking: The Derivatives Bomb.
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19. Dysfunctional Two-Party Political Bomb.
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20. The Coming Populous Rebellion Bombs.
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[ThePythonicCow]

Re: 20 reasons Global Debt Time Bomb explodes soon

When the financial oligarchs steal smaller countries, taking their wealth, property, resources and any future income streams as taxes or debt service, they usually pass through a phase of beating that country into submission with some sort of economic catastrophe.

Perhaps the presence of all these financial bombs threatening to blow up the American economy is evidence that they are setting up for such an economic catastrophe here ... economic terrorism at its finest.

[Chris]

Re: 20 reasons Global Debt Time Bomb explodes soon

When the financial oligarchs steal smaller countries, taking their wealth, property, resources and any future income streams as taxes or debt service, they usually pass through a phase of beating that country into submission with some sort of economic catastrophe.

Perhaps the presence of all these financial bombs threatening to blow up the American economy is evidence that they are setting up for such an economic catastrophe here ... economic terrorism at its finest.

who are these people, TPC? How can i become one?

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: 20 reasons Global Debt Time Bomb explodes soon

who are these people, TPC?

Good question. The usual answers, such as the Rockefeller's, the Rothschild's, the Illuminati, Wall Street, Washington, ... do not serve our understanding well.

Humans have a long standing tendency to personify that which they do not understand well. While it is no doubt true that a few powerful families, wealthy Banksters and Titan's of industry and leading politicians exert inordinate influence, still there is something in the larger fabric of civilization that fosters such concentration of power, wealth and corruption.

I don't have a good way of explaining it yet, even to myself. Perhaps some of the following books, still in my input queue, will shed some light on this:

• Shadow Elite: How the World's New Power Brokers Undermine Democracy, Government, and the Free Market by Janine R. Wedel
• Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making by David Rothkopf'
• The Power Elite by C Wright Mills
• The New Elite: Inside the Minds of the Truly Wealthy by Taylor, Harrison and Kraus

[bw]

Re: 20 reasons Global Debt Time Bomb explodes soon

How can i become one?

You can apply online, take a test, and they send you a certificate.

There are some Nigerian inheritance letters that are actually Financial Oligarch filtering mechanisms - if you respond to enough of them, eventually you'll hit one of them that is a Financial Oligarch invitation.

I became a Financial Oligarch last year and it's great. You should see the offers I get.

[Chris]

Re: 20 reasons Global Debt Time Bomb explodes soon

You can apply online, take a test, and they send you a certificate.

There are some Nigerian inheritance letters that are actually Financial Oligarch filtering mechanisms - if you respond to enough of them, eventually you'll hit one of them that is a Financial Oligarch invitation.

I became a Financial Oligarch last year and it's great. You should see the offers I get.

but do I get to wear a special hat? I'd rather not join if I don't get a hat.

[Chris]

Re: 20 reasons Global Debt Time Bomb explodes soon

Good question. The usual answers, such as the Rockefeller's, the Rothschild's, the Illuminati, Wall Street, Washington, ... do not serve our understanding well.

Humans have a long standing tendency to personify that which they do not understand well. While it is no doubt true that a few powerful families, wealthy Banksters and Titan's of industry and leading politicians exert inordinate influence, still there is something in the larger fabric of civilization that fosters such concentration of power, wealth and corruption.

I don't have a good way of explaining it yet, even to myself. Perhaps some of the following books, still in my input queue, will shed some light on this:

• Shadow Elite: How the World's New Power Brokers Undermine Democracy, Government, and the Free Market by Janine R. Wedel
• Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making by David Rothkopf'
• The Power Elite by C Wright Mills
• The New Elite: Inside the Minds of the Truly Wealthy by Taylor, Harrison and Kraus

Interesting list, TPC. I wonder if any of the authors will be able to speed up my entry if I contact them directly?

[Aetius Romulous]

Re: 20 reasons Global Debt Time Bomb explodes soon

Good question. The usual answers, such as the Rockefeller's, the Rothschild's, the Illuminati, Wall Street, Washington, ... do not serve our understanding well.

Humans have a long standing tendency to personify that which they do not understand well. While it is no doubt true that a few powerful families, wealthy Banksters and Titan's of industry and leading politicians exert inordinate influence, still there is something in the larger fabric of civilization that fosters such concentration of power, wealth and corruption.

I don't have a good way of explaining it yet, even to myself. Perhaps some of the following books, still in my input queue, will shed some light on this:

• Shadow Elite: How the World's New Power Brokers Undermine Democracy, Government, and the Free Market by Janine R. Wedel
• Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making by David Rothkopf'
• The Power Elite by C Wright Mills
• The New Elite: Inside the Minds of the Truly Wealthy by Taylor, Harrison and Kraus

Mills is the first you want to read, and then Rothkopf.

I thought Wedel was a bit of a screed frankly, but I haven't read Taylor et al. Which I will on your recommendation.

Mills is older, and predates the current mess. He was a pioneer of sorts. Most of his stuff is out of print, but Thorstein Veblans "Theory of the Leisure Class" is a classic...if you can find it.

[Aetius Romulous]

Re: 20 reasons Global Debt Time Bomb explodes soon

For what it's worth, this is exactly what I am trying to do with a series of essays I am building. I want to tie all the threads together, but at their fundamental level...where they all link and cross support each other.

Each of these is, in my opinion, a symptom and not a cause. A symptom of an underlying architecture that I contend is a remnant of an age long past, and wholly inadequate for our modern, complex world.

Thanks for the link. Not a lot of people are looking at the gods eye view of this.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: 20 reasons Global Debt Time Bomb explodes soon

but do I get to wear a special hat? I'd rather not join if I don't get a hat.

Yes, you get to wear a hat. It's made of aluminum foil.

[strittmatter]

Re: 20 reasons Global Debt Time Bomb explodes soon

"Starve the beast", "move your money"? Nice try kids.


Methinks the Cow know-eth of what he speak-eth.
Edited without the Cow's permission:

When the financial oligarchs steal , taking their wealth, property, resources and any future income streams as taxes or debt service, they usually pass through a phase of beating (your name here)__________ into submission with some sort of economic catastrophe.

Private Equity Firms Dive into Bank M&A, Loaded With Capital

FinCri Advisor
June, 2009

The sea suddenly is full of hungry private equity firms, circling for capital-starved institutions. But with share values of banks at historically low values, many banks find PE money hard to resist.

That’s also what some big names in private equity (PE) have concluded.

Last month, a consortium that included The Carlyle Group, Blackstone Group, Centerbridge Partners and WL Ross & Co. acquired the failed thrift BankUnited ($12.8 billion) of Coral Gables, Fla., through an FDIC auction. The consortium immediately infused the bank with $900 million in capital. This followed a deal by JC Flowers for IndyMac, its purchase of First National Bank of Cainesville, Mo. ($18 million), as well as MatlinPatterson Global Advisers’ $250 million January purchase of Flagstar Bancorp ($14.2 billion) of Troy, Mich., in concert with a $266.6 million TARP infusion.

Starting with TARP, regulators have helped the process. In the case of BankUnited, FDIC agreed to a loss-sharing arrangement to buy a portion of the bank’s toxic assets, says Carlyle spokesman Tom Johnson, and FDIC also directly paid off $348 million in brokered deposits. Even sweeter, the Fed last fall increased the stake PE investors can take in banks to 24.9% of outstanding voting stock (and up to 33% equity interest) from 15% without triggering bank holding company and reporting requirements.

But it sees an opening: If regulators “lean harder on the banks for more capital, then the banks will be more willing to sell at lower prices, so we are watching that,” President Tony James said during a May 6 conference call on its quarterly earnings. “Capital raised for this purpose looks like it will be fairly low margin,” he added. “We are watching all that.”

Carlyle – which has $30 billion available to invest overall – has weighed 150 opportunities in financial services the past two years, says spokesman Chris Ullman. The D.C.-based PE’s target is community banks in need of capital, and it’s willing to invest $50 million-$300 million in them.

Regulators' Thirst for Capital Could Lead to Softer Rules on Private Investments in Banks - FinCri, Jan 2010.

http://fincriadvisor.com/home - short, free registration required but good reads.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: 20 reasons Global Debt Time Bomb explodes soon

Mills is the first you want to read, and then Rothkopf.

I thought Wedel was a bit of a screed frankly, but I haven't read Taylor et al. Which I will on your recommendation.

Your recommendations sound far more valuable than mine. Thanks.

My list of four books came from a few minutes worth of Google searching and glancing at Amazon.com reviews. I really don't know if Taylor or any of these others are worth the pixels they are displayed with.

Hmm..., actually, reading those Amazon reviews for Taylor, et. al. some more, it looks to be the least useful book for this topic.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: 20 reasons Global Debt Time Bomb explodes soon

For what it's worth, this ...

Thanks for the link. ...

The context for your reply is not obvious to me. Sorry. It can help to provide context if you quote a bit of the post to which you are responding. The reply with quote button , or the quote button in the reply composition window can assist in formatting quoted material.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Regulators' Thirst for Capital Could Lead to Softer Rules on Private Investments in Banks - FinCri, Jan 2010.

That article is good and is worrisome.
Seems to say that Carlyle, Blackstone et al will soon be picking up troubled banks, sometimes with a big, fat TARP check thrown in to help.

Unsaid is that these consortia are big enough to personally arrange for a target bank to get into trouble, where they can swoop in to buy cheap with gov't cash added as gravy. To paraphrase the mobster movie "It's a dangerous world; a little bank could have an accident."

I want an aluminum foil hat, too, please.:eek:

[flintlock]

Re: 20 reasons Global Debt Time Bomb explodes soon

Death awaits you! You have made a covenant with death, and with Hell you are in agreement. You're all going to die! Don't you realize? Can't you see? You're all going to die! Death awaits you all!

-Crazy Reverend Witt from the movie "Zulu".