EJ gets on Zerohedge!

[Mega]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-11/when-all-blows

Not long Eric till Alex Jones invites you on ;)

[Techdread]

Re: EJ gets on Zerohedge!

Thanks for posting this.

I should commit to memory what E.J wrote in this piece as it is damn near to the mark as what has happened after 2008.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: EJ gets on Zerohedge!

Thanks Mike, I did read that article.

Martenson makes a couple nice summary statements

...After the dust settles, there will be winners and losers, and those with the proper framework will understand that what actually happened was that all of the wealth was transferred from those who thought they owned it, to those who actually did....



...It’s not in their (the Fed) power to make everyone a winner. So they have decided to throwing granny (and savers and pensions) under the bus while financial elites and well-connected speculators (e.g. JP Morgan and other large banks) extremely wealthy in the process. Wealth is being transferred from Parties B-Z to Party A – from the many to the few...

The comments about the correlation of GDP growth to growth in energy consumption are probably wrong. While that has been historically true, I believe today we are seeing global adoption of a thousand small energy conservation techniques. Together, those energy conservation practices mean that for the past few years and for the next ten years, the correlation between GDP and energy consumption just won't be true. More precisely, the correlation will be hidden from economists. Economists used to be able to look at total BTUs of coal mined and oil drilled, and assume the same percentage of that energy actually did the end user some good by melting steel in a furnace or rolling cargo down the highway in a truck. Today's conservation and efficiency improvements mean the end user is getting more and more energy into the steel and the cargo load without purchasing more fuel. It's not really possible for economist to measure this or determine these efficiency improvements, other than to point out to us all that energy mining and drilling seems to have stagnated. So I believe that old correlation is no longer worth following to examine GDP. GDP can increase with energy inputs stagnant, so long as efficiencies are improving broadly.

Martenson's discussion of GDP growth rates made me look up a long term chart that surprised me. Here it is:



As much as I hate to say good things about central bankers, this chart seems to show they may have succeeded in taming the business cycle.
I see that from 1945 to 1985, GDP growth gyrated wildly between plus 10 % and negative 5%, sometimes even more.
In the past 10 years, only the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 hits minus 5%. Otherwise GDP growth has been comparatively stable around plus 3%
Maybe we should think of these small GDP growth rates as not so bad, so long as we also get to avoid the ugly down drafts.

I also notice Chris Martenson is selling a paid part two using EJ's Ka-POOM brand.
He might owe EJ some money for that.

[Southernguy]

Re: EJ gets on Zerohedge!

I read the work several days ago. Also noted that it states energy shortage as a crisis provoking factor. Today's gradual but steady substitution of fossil fuels by renewables goes against that.
Photovoltaic and wind power prices are diminishing by the day. Some public biddings for electric power from solar are cheaper now than their cheapest ff competitor: natural gas.
Offshore wind farms are also getting cheaper.
And your can see what's happening to oil prices.
I really don't buy Martenson's doom and gloom scenario.
In general inflation has been reduced to asset inflation. CPI has evolved with great moderation. As well as wages. The Fed, however seems to be beginning a substantial tightening cycle.
Maybe at some time EJ will be on a position to review his theory. Let's wait.