Running 'Cause I Can't Fly 2

Friday, September 1, 2023

"Here's Why the Collapse of Rome is Foretelling the Decline of the US Empire"

"Here's Why the Collapse of Rome is

Foretelling the Decline of the US Empire"

by Chris MacIntosh

"Ancient Rome was the world’s most powerful empire for 500 years. At its height, Rome boasted of roads, public baths, and much else that was close to miraculous for the rest of the planet. Then came the Great Fall, and what happened has lessons for the world today.

In his book "The City In History" (1961), Lewis Mumford explains how Rome went from "Megalopolis to Necropolis."

This great city set up its own demise in two ways: Panem et circenses (or "bread and circuses"). Mumford says, "Success underwrote a sickening parasitic failure."

As ancient Rome became prosperous, it became an unsustainable welfare state. Mumford writes that "indiscriminate public largesse" became common. A large portion of the population "took on the parasitic role for a whole lifetime." More than 200,000 citizens of Rome regularly received handouts of bread from "public storehouses."

Lewis Mumford also wrote the desire to lead an industrious productive life had severely "weakened." So what did people spend their time on? Distractions, which meant circuses.

The Roman people, not working for their livelihood but living off of the prosperity of their city, became numb.Mumford writes, "To recover the bare sensation of being alive, the Roman populace, high and low, governors, and governed, flocked to the great arenas" for games and distractions.

The entertainment in Rome included "chariot races, spectacular naval battles set in an artificial lake, theatrical pantomimes in which lewder sexual acts were performed." Today it is social media and porn. Out of 365 days, more than 200 were public holidays and 93 were "devoted to games at the public expense."

Consuming entertainment became the primary priority of Roman citizens in Rome’s decadent phase. As Lewis Mumford writes, "Not to be present at the show was to be deprived of life, liberty, and happiness." Consuming entertainment became the primary priority of Roman citizens in Rome’s decadent phase. As Lewis Mumford writes, "Not to be present at the show was to be deprived of life, liberty, and happiness." Concrete concerns of life became "subordinate, accessory, almost meaningless."

Ancient Rome could put half of its total population "in its circuses and theatres" at the same time. A new public holiday was declared to celebrate every military victory. But the number of holidays kept rising even when Rome’s military prowess began to fail…

Mumford writes that no empire had such an "abundance of idle time to fill with idiotic occupations." Even the Roman emperors who privately despised the games had to pretend they enjoyed them for "fear of hostile public response." Bottom line: The very power and prosperity of ancient Rome set the stage for its collapse.

As welfare states expand around the world today and entertainment options get ever more immersive, we are forced to ask a question: Is this Post-Industrial Civilization Rome, Part II?

Edward Gibbon, the author of "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", says: "The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the causes of destruction multiplied with conquest; and, as soon as time or accident had removed the artificial supports, the fabric yielded."

All advanced civilizations become "complex systems," and then rot sets in."

- https://internationalman.com/

Hat tip to International Man for this material.

"It's Human Nature..."

“We’ve all heard the warnings and we’ve ignored them. We push our luck. We roll the dice. It’s human nature. When we’re told not to touch something we usually do even if we know better. Maybe because deep down, we’re just asking for trouble.”

- “Meredith Grey”, “Gray’s Anatomy”

If so, we've certainly gotten all we want...

Bill Bonner, "Who's Sorry Now?"

"Who's Sorry Now?"

With $50 trillion bound for monetary heaven,

who's shedding a tear at this funeral?

by Bill Bonner

"Who's sorry now?

Who's sorry now?

Whose heart is aching for breaking each vow?

Who's sad and blue? Who's crying too?"

~ Snyder, Kalmar, Ruby

Poitou, France - "News flash: Inflation ain’t licked yet. Breitbart: "Bidenflation Keeps Going: Inflation Edged Higher in July." "The personal consumption price expenditures (PCE) price index rose 3.3 percent in July compared with 12 months earlier, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Thursday. This was the first acceleration in PCE inflation since April and follows the three percent reading in June."

And the Daily Mail: "Inflation gauge preferred by the Fed rises to 4.2% as housing and healthcare costs increase. The key question for us all is: what next? Will inflation pick up? Will it decline? There is $95 trillion in outstanding debt in the US, of which about $50 trillion is ‘excess’ – debt that probably can’t survive a complete interest rate cycle. One way or another, much of that $50 trillion will die – either from inflation or deflation."

In anticipation, today, we look ahead…that is, we put on a dark suit and gather at the gravesite. We want to see who’s there...and who’s heart is breaking.

Weeping at the Grave: We’ve already seen that excess debt is a mistake from the past. (The Fed left its key rate too low for too long…resulting in way too much debt.) But trying to fix it with inflation undermines the future. Unstable prices damage the whole economy. Real wages can’t keep up. Investment in long-term wealth-building industries disappears. Growth rates go down. The middle class shrinks. People get poorer. But we also know that letting the debt bubble die (deflation) hits the rich and powerful especially hard. They’re the ones who own financial assets. When prices go down, they lose wealth.

One way or another, there’s about $50 trillion that is headed for money heaven. It can go quickly, in a bust. Or it can go slowly…in an inflationary frazzle. So, who will be there, mourning…a handkerchief quietly mopping the tears…with the smell of lilies wafting through the air? Is that an Italian suit…a Chanel handbag? Or an outfit from Target, a get-up last worn 20 years ago…when mother died?

Who are these people weeping at the grave? Who’s sorry now? If we had our druthers, they’d be the rich men north of Richmond. They were the ones who gained the most from the Fed’s ‘mistake.’ Those to whom much has been given can damned well give it back.

According to Statista, the two richest areas in the US, by household income, are…wouldn’t you know it…just north of Richmond. Maryland – home of so many federal employees – has household income of $97,000. Washington, DC, is just behind with $90,000 per household.

In 1971, taken altogether, household, business and government debt toted to less than $2 trillion. And they were red-blooded, reliable, gold-backed, cigarette-smoking bucks back then. But then, the feds ‘transitioned’ the dollar. The next we knew it was a strange, unnatural thing; we hardly knew what to make of it.

The Great Divide: Soon, there were more and more of these funny-money dollars than ever before. And you can guess where they went. Here are the remarkable figures, from former White House budget director, David Stockman:

In 1989 the collective net worth of the top 1% of households weighed in at $4.8 trillion, which was 6.2X the $775 billion net worth of the bottom 50% of households. By Q1 2022, however, those figures were $45 trillion versus $3.7 trillion, meaning that the wealth differential was now 12.2X.

In round numbers, therefore, the top 1% gained $40 trillion of wealth over that 33-year period compared to the mere $3 trillion gain of the bottom 50%. Stated differently, there are currently 65 million households in the bottom 50%, which have an average net worth of just $56,000. This compares to the 1.2 million households in the top 1% which currently sport an average net worth of $38,000,000."

If the Fed were to let the credit bubble ‘die’…much of this $38 million per rich guy would go away. Write downs, defaults, bear markets and bankruptcies…the rich would take the losses they deserve.

They measured their wealth not in the real output of the Mainstreet economy, but in the inflated currency of Wall Street. If Paul Volcker were still at the helm of the Fed, he might have something to say about it. In the early ‘80s, he took the air out of the whole system – with a 20% Fed Funds rate – and restored faith in the dollar. Before he was finished, inflation was beaten and stocks were at their lowest prices ever. A similar move today would separate the rich from much of their ill-gotten gains. Each of the 1% might end up with only $20 million or so. Sniff. Sniff.

“At least they (dead asset values) didn’t suffer for too long,” the grieving relatives would say to each other. “When the end came…it came quickly.” By 1983, the inflation rate in the US had dropped to 3.2% – lower than it is today. It was quick work. And successful. The US economy boomed for the next two decades. But we are dreaming, aren’t we?

Death by Policy: Inflation? Deflation? These are largely (though not completely) policy decisions. And policy decisions are made by the rich men north of Richmond. And our guess is that it won’t be they whom we will find gathered in the cemetery. It won’t be their money that dies. Instead, they will choose the first option…the tried and true panacea of mismanaged governments through the ages – inflation. And then, try to picture the mourners.

No Italian suits. No Chanel handbags. No Mercedes in the parking lot. No fulsome stock portfolios…no huge capital gains. We are talking about Middle America, not the 1%. They will pay more for milk and cheese…and houses…and autos. They, the people whose savings got ripped off by the Fed’s low interest rates…whose wages went nowhere for half a century…whose jobs were shipped to China…whose bedrock values were mocked by the elites…their heads hung low…their wallets empty…they will pay higher consumer prices to keep the elites’ asset bubble inflated."

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

"How It Really Is"

"Most Americans Now Living Paycheck To Paycheck

As Biden's Economy Crashes And Burns"

Jim Kunstler, "Happenings Await"

"Happenings Await"

By Jim Kunstler

“Even Americans who have no particular interest in freedom and

independence in democracies worldwide, should be satisfied that

we’re getting our money’s worth on our Ukraine investment.”

- Sen. Richard Blumenthal

"The Labor Day weekend looms like a gateway into an autumn hell-scape of political psychodrama, so enjoy those last clam rolls of the season before the zeitgeist darkens and events pound the shore like so many waves of hurricane surf. Further inland, where the Swamp lies, unseen hands work overtime to falsify reality in a leaderless nation. Everybody feels the unbearable tension of things as yet unhappened.

“Joe Biden” has LARPed his way to the final act of his performance. The evidence of his high crimes, and the covering-up of those high crimes by our lawless law officialdom, is piled high enough to eject him into the swales of infamy. We know exactly how the Ukraine grift went down — the documentation is stark and florid - as is the rest of family’s bribery operations in other lands not necessarily friendly to our own land. So, add treason to bribery and there you have the complete kit of perfidious treachery against the nation.

“Joe Biden” will be removed most likely by his own party before an impeachment inquiry can be launched in Congress. Not even The New York Times and CNN would able to ignore the horrific spectacle and the party’s own minions might be shamed into learning how they were hosed for so many years. The unseen hands that jammed “JB” into the White House can then figure out what to do about the hapless Kamala Harris while Congress turns its attention to impeaching Merrick Garland, Christopher Wray, Alejandro Mayorkas, and Xavier Bacerra. At least that’s how it might work if the USA was a sane polity.

Otherwise, the people of this land will have to choose between being rolled-over by a globalist coup or find other routes of resistance. One would be for the governors of several so-called Red states to end mail-in voting, get rid of computerized ballot-counting machines, bring back paper ballots, and declare that all voting and hand ballot-counting take place on one election day. Don’t believe those who say it can’t be done. If it’s not done, we’ll never see anything close to an un-rigged election in this country ever again.

In what might be one of his last official acts, “Joe Biden” announced last week that Americans would be “encouraged” to get a new-and-improved mRNA vaccine booster against the new Covid virus strain EG.5 “Eris” (named after the Greek goddess of strife and discord). The “president,” said he asked Congress for funding “for a new vaccine that is necessary, that works…. It will likely be recommended that everybody get it no matter whether they’ve gotten it before or not.”

Say, what…? Did the earlier vaccines not work, Joe? Most assuredly they did not. The shots injured, disabled, and killed a great many people, and it staggers the rational mind that the CDC is still pushing these shots. You might conclude that they’re pretending this didn’t happen to evade responsibility. After all, what would be the consequences if these officials admitted that all the previous Covid vaccines were ineffective and harmful? And what would be the reaction of the 81.3 percent of the population who got at least one dose of the previous vaccines and the 65.6 percent who are “fully vaccinated” with two or more shots? (Note, statistics from the CDC.)

I’ll tell you what would happen: the CDC officials and a great many other persons on the public payroll would be in court on criminal charges. And doctors and hospitals would be subject to so many lawsuits they would never again have time to actually practice medicine, while millions of people with damaged immune systems and wrecked organs take flight like so many black swans flapping into the setting sun of their own prematurely attenuated lives. If you care to be astounded, listen to this talk that Dr. Peter McCullough gave to an audience in New Hampshire a few days ago, calling out all the principals who devised the Covid-19 fiasco by name: Ralph Baric, Anthony Fauci, Peter Daszek, and Francis Collins, and then describing exactly how the dastardly act and the cover-up went down.

Speaking of happenings this autumn, expect the war in Ukraine to come to an end. The news media might omit to inform you about this, but it awaits. Russia will not trumpet its victory, so as to avoid inflaming America’s crazed neo-cons. Rather it will just quietly take charge of its successfully neutralized neighbor, make provision for some sort of administration over what remains of the rump state - in a way that affords Russia a sense of permanent security - at the same time that Russia commences new negotiations separately with several European nations to reestablish realistic relations.

The US will be delicately hung out to dry on this. Short of resorting to nuclear World War Three, there is nothing the US can do about it - except for the Democratic Party to blame the whole sorry thing on “Joe Biden” as he is forced to resign from office pending that aforesaid impeachment threat. No other explanation for the end of our Ukraine project will be required. The party of chaos will flounder a while in the very chaos that it induced, trying laughably to switch out Kamala Harris for Gavin Newsom - or some other ploy to stay in business. But the party will be so badly damaged by then that it will have no other option except to let Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in to drive out the remaining demons and save the venerable old org from suicide.

If you think that these various momentous happenings won’t affect the financial markets and the banking system in the coming season, prepare to be amazed. This is how America truly gets to feel the pain, and this might be how the pitchforks finally come out for the people who wrecked our country."

- https://kunstler.com/

"Gregory Mannarino, AM/PM 9/1/23"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 9/1/23

"Alert! Expect War Between The US And

The BRICS Much Sooner Than Later, Here's Why"

- https://traderschoice.net/

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