Saturday, December 26, 2020
“In The Long Run… We Are All Alive”
Sometimes the end of the world comes and goes, while some of us are still here. We believe our present episode of debt, deficits, and state sponsored economic destruction, is one of these times.. We’ll have more on this in just a moment. But first, let’s peer back several hundred years. There we find context, edification, and instruction.
In 1696, William Whiston, a protégé of Isaac Newton, wrote a book. It had the grandiose title, “A New Theory of the Earth from its Original to the Consummation of All Things.” In it he proclaimed, among other things, that the global flood of Noah had been caused by a comet. Mr. Whiston took his book very serious. The good people of London took it very serious too. Perhaps it was Whiston’s conviction. Or his great fear of comets. But, for whatever reason, it never occurred to Londoners that he was a Category 5 quack.
Like Neil Ferguson, and his mathematical biology cohorts at Imperial College, London, Whiston’s research filled a void. Much like today’s epidemiological models, the science was bunk. Nonetheless, the results supplied prophecies of the apocalypse to meet a growing demand. It was just a matter of time before Whiston’s research would cause trouble…
Judgement Day: In 1736, William Whiston crunched some data and made some calculations. He projected these calculations out and saw the future. And what he witnessed scared him mad. He barked. He ranted. He foamed at the mouth to anyone who would listen. Pretty soon he’d stirred up his neighbors with a prophecy that the world would be destroyed on October 13th of that year when a comet would collide with the earth.
Jonathan Swift, in his work, “A True and Faithful Narrative of What Passed in London on a Rumour of the Day of Judgment,” quoted Whiston: “Friends and fellow-citizens, all speculative science is at an end: the period of all things is at hand; on Friday next this world shall be no more. Put not your confidence in me, brethren; for tomorrow morning, five minutes after five, the truth will be evident; in that instant the comet shall appear, of which I have heretofore warned you. As ye have heard, believe. Go hence, and prepare your wives, your families, and friends, for the universal change.”
Clergymen assembled to offer prayers. Churches filled to capacity. Rich and paupers alike feared their judgement. Lawyers worried about their fate. Judges were relieved they were no longer lawyers. Teetotalers got smashed. Drunks got sober. Bankers forgave their debtors. Criminals, to be executed, expressed joy.
The wealthy gave their money to beggars. Beggars gave it back to the wealthy. Several rich and powerful gave large donations to the church; no doubt, reserving first class tickets to heaven. Many ladies confessed to their husbands that one or more of their children were bastards. Husbands married their mistresses. And on and on…
The Archbishop of Canterbury, William Wake, had to officially deny this prediction to ease the public consternation. But it did little good. Crowds gathered at Islington, Hampstead, and the surrounding fields, to witness the destruction of London, which was deemed the “beginning of the end.” Then, just like Whiston said, a comet appeared. Prayers were made. Deathbed confessions were shared. And at the moment of maximum fear, something remarkable happened: the world didn’t end. The comet did not collide with earth. It was merely a near miss.
The experience of Whiston, and his pseudoscience prophecy, shows that predictions of the end of the world come and go while people still remain. Sometimes the fallout of these predictions, and the foolishness they provoke, is limited. Other times the foolishness they provoke leads to catastrophe. Here’s what we mean…
“In the long run we are all dead,” said 20th Century economist and Fabian socialist, John Maynard Keynes. This was Keynes rationale for why governments should borrow from the future to fund economic growth today. Of course, politicians love an academic theory that gives them cover to intervene in the economy. This is especially so when it justifies spending other people’s money to buy votes. Keynesian economics, and in particular, counter-cyclical stimulus, does just that.
U.S. politicians have attempted to borrow and spend the nation to prosperity for the last 80 years. Over the past decade, the Federal Reserve has aggressively printed money to fund Washington’s epic borrowing binge. Fed Chair Jay Powell confirmed that the Fed will pursue policies of dollar destruction to, somehow, print new jobs.
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Friday, December 25, 2020
"Panic And Shoplifting Sweep Across America As Fears Of An Economic Collapse Continue To Rise"
"Today, the lives of millions of Americans is about to be greatly shaken, as the federal benefits that were helping several families to stay afloat during this period of economic collapse are scheduled to expire, and no one really knows if the new stimulus package is going to come into force as soon as expected. It's no news that this year's economic meltdown led a large chunk of our population to unemployment, and consequently, to fall into poverty and face housing and food insecurity, but as of tomorrow, these households will officially lose their safety net, and we can’t tell for sure they will be able to qualify for the next round of benefits while we head towards a very dark winter. If this isn't the saddest Christmas the U.S. has ever had, we wonder how much worse things could get, because at this point, the situation has become so dire it is just heartbreaking to watch our citizens and our country go down this tortuous path.
Panic and Desperation has been taking over the nation. Amid the worst hunger crisis this country has ever recorded in modern times, and the reduction of programs like SNAP and WIC as well as miles-long waiting lines in food banks, numerous people already started stealing food to survive. Authorities, retailers, and loss prevention researchers are reporting a surge in shoplifting, but differently from other recessions, the items taken aren't highly-priced merchandise, but everyday staples such as hygiene products and dried food, signaling the extent of the misery and anguish many in our society are currently suffering with. That's the ominous sign of the times we expose in this video.
When the economic collapse becomes so intense people start panicking and stealing to survive, there we can see how authorities completely failed our country. The reckless response to the repercussions of the sanitary outbreak in the economy has destroyed our businesses, our jobs, and our finances. As unemployment benefits and the extension of several food assistance programs lapse this Christmas, and we have no confirmation whether the new round of stimulus will be issued right away, many will be left without viable alternatives to find enough to eat, especially considering food pantries across the country have been increasingly overwhelmed by the unprecedented demand.
Since the institution of new lockdown orders, several publishings have been addressing the growing rates of shoplifting throughout the U.S. Most notably, the Washington Post has recently described the dramatic situation of a great number of Americans that have been secretly hiding essential products in their bags during their trips to grocery stores. The article also covers business owners' dilemma in face of the public's mounting struggle to afford food, and just as worryingly, to provide enough for their children. That's what Capitol Supermarket manager Joo Park explained in the article. Theft rates have more than doubled at his store, and Park usually tends to avoid calling officers, choosing instead to ban offenders from coming back. “It’s become much harder during the [health crisis],” he points out. “People will say, ‘I was just hungry.’ And then what do you do?” the manager exclaimed.
Stores located in low-income areas, such as Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, have oftentimes seen increasing instances of theft during the past year. And with over 26 million adults, or approximately 1 in 8 Americans, already dealing with food insecurity, if the economic context doesn't show any improvements nor reinserts its workers into the labor market soon enough, the situation might spiral out of control fairly quickly. According to local law enforcement agencies, in cities like Philadelphia, shoplifting has climbed roughly 60 percent this year.