What will likely happen

I try not to get involved in the business of prediction. It's a quick way to look like an idiot.
- Warren Ellis

Obviously no one knows what the future holds.
However, there are some things that we can predict with certainty anyway.
For instance, the sun will rise in the east tomorrow, people will continue to have to pay taxes, and we are about to elect someone president that a majority of the public absolutely loathes.

Remember the protests at the 2001 inauguration?
Now imagine it 10 times worse.

What will happen after that ugly moment is harder to say, but there are a few things that are more than likely to happen, and tops on that list is a deep recession.

The economic expansion is already the 4th-longest in American history and is beginning to show signs of stalling.
Unless history stopped in 2008, then the chances of a recession in the next four years is well over 90%.
expansions.jpg

Of course history alone won't cause a recession. That's why I've been writing essays about unstable parts of the economy here, here, here, here, and here.
It's not impossible to avoid a recession under the next presidency, but then it's also not impossible to win the lottery either.

What is almost certain to happen is that the most hated president in American history will preside over a deep recession shortly after taking office.
And to make things worse, most of the tools normally used to fight a recession will have already been used before the recession even started.

The Fed and global central banks have already cut rates to near zero and engaged in massive QE, so anything short of helicopter money will have little effect.
Companies are loaded with debt and inventories are already high, which only leaves layoffs.
Public debt to GDP is over 100% and deficits are expected to rise even without a recession, so any fiscal stimulus is likely to be limited.
Basically the new president will be battling a recession with one hand tied behind the back, and sinking approval ratings.

How Washington responds depends on whether Hillary or Donald are in the White House.
If it's Donald they will likely give massive tax cuts to big businesses and the wealthy.
If it's Hillary you will probably see a modest, too small, stimulus package laced with tax cuts like in 2009.

Either way, both Hillary and Donald will conclude that they can't really do anything about the economy, and that the only thing they can control is the ability to scare and distract the public by bombing brown-skinned people.

Personally I seriously question how effective this strategy will be after 15 years of fear mongering.
Short of another 9/11, I believe most of the public will see through this for what it is.
What's more, the public has such a low opinion of the news media these days that their ability to hypnotize the public with propaganda is limited (with the exception of Democrats).

This has the potential of getting quite ugly.

Unlike the snapshots of survey data from different countries, this big picture is unambiguous:

Financial crises lead to extremism. A recent study showed that between 1874 and 2014, financial crises increased support for far-right parties by 30 percent on average.

Indeed, the current populist onslaught is nothing new. Following the 1929 crash and the subsequent global depression, extremism of all stripes, left and right, rose across the Western world. Its growth was far more pronounced in countries that had weaker democratic traditions or by had been on the losing side in World War I. But an extended period of poor economic performance was a necessary ingredient.

OTOH, this also has the potential of forcing through real, meaningful change. But that will only happen if people demand it.

Share
up
0 users have voted.

Comments

Bollox Ref's picture

She's already said that she's going to hand over economic policy to WJC, so she can take a long nap.

Also gjohnsit, I'm glad you're writing over here now. The Cackle Channel's loss.

up
0 users have voted.

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Meteor Man's picture

the rest of the world Catches pneumonia. Well what happens when America gets pneumonia?

up
0 users have voted.

"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

Bollox Ref's picture

up
0 users have voted.

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

https://www.amazon.com/Stronger-Together-Hillary-Rodham-Clinton/dp/15011...

The reviews of this book on Amazon are really priceless. Laugh out loud wonderful.

It is so damn hard to return from denial, and see again what is happening in the world, but know we must.
Thank you for this essay.

up
0 users have voted.
Bollox Ref's picture

Definitely comedy gold. I trust nobody has summoned up the courage to show Her Royal Clintoness.

up
0 users have voted.

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

hellinahandcart's picture

they really are side-splitting funny! Even the ones that give five stars are doing it in a smart-assed way.
Everyone needs to read! Thanx for the link.

up
0 users have voted.

I can't stop laughing, seriously...

up
0 users have voted.
Oldest Son Of A Sailor's picture

I would like to thank Hillary for printing this all in blue ..., September 16, 2016
By Zotted FReeper
This review is from: Stronger Together (Paperback)
First off, I would like to thank Hillary for printing this all in blue ink because the color blue helps prevent my seizures. It was a little bit of a long read, being 32,000 pages of yoga routines, but I powered through it. Its amazing to think that she wrote the entire book on a Blackberry! I didn't know it was a pop-up book until I got to the chapter about her husband, Bill and his oval office experiences. The only issues I had with the book were all of the annoying "C" markings in the margins. At under $10 it's a bargain, considering that Saudi Princes pay millions of dollars for such insight. Plus, included with the book is a $10 off coupon for a Diazepam Autoinjector, so you get your money back right there.

up
0 users have voted.
"Do you realize the responsibility I carry?
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."

~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,

OMG, thanks so much! Funniest things I've read in forever and renewed my faith in humanity!

up
0 users have voted.

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

I was chortling out loud - especially love how the five star ones used their talents to send such creatively delicious daggers!

Think the reviews should be made into a book! Or at least, a SNL skit.

up
0 users have voted.
Citizen Of Earth's picture

Horrible sales. It will be in the $1 Bin by election day. From reviews, it's little more than a campaign commercial in book form.

up
0 users have voted.

Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

Lifted a couple of 'em and put them in another diary.

Really would love it if we could make a book out of the reviews. I bet it would sell like hotcakes.

But you'd have to get all the reviewers to agree to the use of their words.

up
0 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

ThoughtfulVoter's picture

This disappointed reader only gave it 1 star:

I bought this thinking it would be a how-to book. I wanted "How to set up your own Foundation for fun and profit." Also, would like to have seen a chapter on "Ten easy steps to setting up your own secure server in a bathroom."

up
0 users have voted.

gjonsit, I know you cover this kind of thing..Did you see the latest

BEIRUT — The Latest on the conflict in Syria, where the U.S. military says it may have unintentionally struck government forces. (all times local):

12:15 a.m.

Russia has called for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council over a U.S. air raid that it says struck Syrian troops battling the Islamic State group.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says Moscow is demanding "full and detailed explanations about whether this was deliberate support of the Islamic State or another mistake."

Zakharova was quoted by the state news agency Tass as saying that "after today's attack on the Syrian army, we come to the terrible conclusion that the White House is defending the Islamic State."

-NYT

up
0 users have voted.
Deja's picture

up
0 users have voted.
Steven D's picture

Kurds, Turks, ISIS, etc. at one time or another except the "moderate" rebels who threatened to kill our troops who were at the time working with the Turks to fight the Kurds, the same Kurds where we had special ops troops embedded when Syria bombed us and our allies or enemies depending on the day.

But, rest assured it is all for our freedoms!

up
0 users have voted.

"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

snoopydawg's picture

Remember when we were attacked by Al Quada on 9/11 and had to invade Afghanistan to get Bin Laden although they knew that he was in Pakistan.
And remember when we invaded Iraq and Al Quada came and started killing our troops and then the troops fight had to fight them back until someone in the Bush administration bribed one part of them not to fight against our troops.
Well now we are arming, training and funding AQ again in Syria and our troops are fighting alongside them because they are helping us overthrow Assad so that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other countries can build a pipeline to move oil even though Russia has had them in Syria for years.
The reason Assad must go is because he is siding with Russia and those other countries don't like that.
It's the biggest clusterfuck over there and no one knows who is fighting who. Once the CIA's terrorists attacked the pentagon's terrorist.
We need one of those bingo cards to keep track of who is fighting which group.

up
0 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

gulfgal98's picture

Perfectly sums up the clusterfuck that is US foreign policy in the region. Good

up
0 users have voted.

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

riverlover's picture

every. single. day. about which side(s) we are cooperating with.

up
0 users have voted.

Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

would be an improvement; but it looks like we are going to get nothing better: only different.

up
0 users have voted.

"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"

Bisbonian's picture

up
0 users have voted.

"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

Amanda Matthews's picture

up
0 users have voted.

I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

Deja's picture

up
0 users have voted.

Indeed, MUCH worse! Obama is far less bloodthirsty than Hillary was as Secretary of Foundation State and Hillary evidently has so many murderous and damaging promises to big donors to fulfill that she may not succeed in completing them all before life perishes off the Earth after she's cheated into office and thousands of global corporations and billionaire have her working directly for them as local management and Military Director In Charge of Nuking/Subjugating Other Countries For Corporate Pillage.

up
0 users have voted.

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

riverlover's picture

Too bad we have seen it. That one description is a keeper for me! The end of the novel should be a dissolution of Foundation State. Life sucks sometime.

up
0 users have voted.

Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

LapsedLawyer's picture

Well, fill in the blank, I guess. Pretty much everybody

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuGp-0G1p4M&list=FL7p6t6kEsNzFwwJXJp4tVf...

up
0 users have voted.

"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it."
-- John Lennon

up
0 users have voted.
LapsedLawyer's picture

up
0 users have voted.

"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it."
-- John Lennon

link

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that more than 60 Syrian troops were killed in four airstrikes near the city of Deir al-Zour, the Interfax news agency reported.

The troops were surrounded by Islamic State fighters, and the strikes “paved the way for ISIS terrorists to attack” a nearby hilltop, Syria’s military said in a statement reported by the state-run news agency. ISIS is common name for the Islamic State.

The statement said the alleged strikes were “conclusive evidence that the United States and its allies support ISIS and other terrorist organizations.”

IS then used the opportunity to attack.

up
0 users have voted.
ggersh's picture

is a giant understatement

up
0 users have voted.

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Deja's picture

How convenient, Mr Prez.

I'm seriously getting a headache now. This is disgusting! If only I had the money to leave the country, I'd be packing right now!

up
0 users have voted.
ggersh's picture

I think of a beach, warmth and a dog to walk.

up
0 users have voted.

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Amanda Matthews's picture

up
0 users have voted.

I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

ggersh's picture

establishment loses

up
0 users have voted.

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

No doubt they'll be reassured to hear that it was friendly fire. Was the local hospital hit as well, or was that still standing to treat the over-welcomed? No missile sites on stand-by, I hope? Gotta love 'foreign policy' used as 'kill 'em all and take their stuff'...

up
0 users have voted.

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Creosote.'s picture

Or as Wikipedia has it,

"Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius." was allegedly spoken by Papal legate and Cistercian abbot Arnaud Amalric prior to the massacre at Béziers, the first major military action of the Albigensian Crusade. A direct translation of the Latin phrase would be "Kill them. For the Lord knows those that are His own." Less formal English translations have given rise to variants such as "Kill them all; let God sort them out." [enphasis added]

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caedite_eos._Novit_enim_Dominus_qui_sunt_eius

up
0 users have voted.
Shockwave's picture

Signs of the Coming Economic Crash

Although there is a role for banks to play in the economy -- they facilitate commerce, after all, when just doing "normal banking" -- 30-plus years of Reaganomics have made banks increasingly vulnerable and prone to crisis. Giving banks this kind of powerful role to play in the economy is just asking for trouble. Wall Street is literally a ticking time bomb, and when it explodes it will take the rest of the economy down with it.

This is not hyperbole -- it's fact, and we're seeing more and more evidence every day that the moment when the Wall Street time bomb will explode is rapidly approaching. As Greg Ip points out in the Wall Street Journal, housing prices and stock prices are now hovering around decades-long highs.

The last time they were this high? You guessed it: 2007, right before crash.

Meanwhile, net wealth is now equal to about 500 percent of the United States' national income. As Ip also points out, "Net wealth has reached that level only twice before: from 1999 to 2000 during the Nasdaq bubble, and 2004 to 2008 during the housing boom."

In other words, history appears to be repeating itself in the worst possible way.

If the crash happens before November 7 Trump will win and proceed to destroy America and the world as we know it. If it happens after November 7 but before inauguration, Obama may put out the fire but the damage will be disastrous. If it happens after inauguration, Hillary will try to micromanage it and fail completely.

up
0 users have voted.

The political revolution continues

If Trump wins, both dems and gopers will impede nearly everything he does. gop will go along with tax cuts and austerity. But in general, first few years, both sides will go after him.

If Hillary wins, she will start wars and she will rule as a "war president" who must unfortunately impose austerity measures on the country because Putin and chicoms.

up
0 users have voted.

Whoever is president, the increase in poverty and desperation will be awesome and frightening. The oligarchs will try to frighten the populace into immobility, and if that doesn't work a foreign threat may be produced.

The well-earned cynicism about our media and our politics will be our opening at this point. Republican trickle-down has long passed its sell-by date, and Democratic neo-liberalism is no more credible. The seeds planted by Occupy and the Sanders primary campaign need to be watered and tended, because their time to blossom will arrive with the next recession. Mass protest must greet any attempt at business as usual by both parties. The lies and corruptions of our political class must be exposed in all their nakedness. When the next recession hits, the status quo must die, and any politician trying to maintain it will have to be flattened by public outrage.

up
0 users have voted.

Please help support caucus99percent!

Creosote.'s picture

Thank you Dallasdoc.

up
0 users have voted.

there will be a deep recession right after the election, and President Hillary will be "rendered impotent" by accusations that she rigged the election. She will propose a 2009 style stimulus package that will not get through congress, then she will cut Social Security by 50% (without cutting the FICA tax) that will get through congress - after raising the cuts to 70%. Hillary will then announce that Iran is "not complying " with the treaty and threaten bombing. Russia and China will "negotiate" a settlement, and Hillary will suffer a fatal stroke. President Kaine will sign the TPP, deregulate the banks, and pass a national Right to work bill. Roe will be overturned, and the minimum wage will be lowered to $5.00 an hour. In the 2018 election the Democrats will lose 10 governorships, 20 senate seats, and effectively dissolve, failing to run all but a token candidate in 2020, who will get only 35% of the vote and fail to take a single state, except possibly CA, which will then secede from the union. After his victory in 2020 President Ryan will declare a state of emergency, effectively becoming President for life.

up
0 users have voted.

On to Biden since 1973

sick bugger.

up
0 users have voted.

Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .

Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .

If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march

They weren't shown on TV although Michael Moore found some video to put in "Fahrenheit 911" (2004), but I didn't see that movie. No recollection.

Yep, the next President will preside over the next recession alright. And Wall Street will get a bailout that Main Street will have to pay for. No matter which of the major party nominees wins this election.

up
0 users have voted.

"We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."

karl pearson's picture

I don't believe the American people will tolerate another bailout of Wall Street. The original Tea Party was formed in reaction to the Wall Street bailouts. (The Tea party was co-opted by right wing Republicans later.) Wall Street may think they've secured their future with Hillary Clinton, but Congress will not pass another bailout. Trump and Bernie Sanders are popular because the American people are sick of Wall Street.

"The 2008 economic collapse was a deep trauma for everyone, across political parties, races and age groups. (If you aren’t still a little traumatized, you’re probably the elite everyone is voting against.)
The bailouts that followed changed the way people think and vote, if not forever, then for at least three elections."

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/articles/2016-03-16/...

up
0 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

That means that if the banks crash the economy again instead of the government bailing them out, people's money that they have in the banks can be taken and used by the banks. This was written in the last omnibus bill.
http://sandiegofreepress.org/2015/01/the-bail-in-how-you-and-your-money-...

However, instead of taking money from the government (taxpayers), the principal has been established that the next source of money for profligate banks will be your deposit accounts. Yeah, that’s right, the money to stabilize the banking sector during the next crisis will come out of your savings and checking accounts.

To add insult to injury – since the banks pay you zero percent on your savings account in the first place – the banks have the right to confiscate your funds if they crash the economy again as they did in 2008. Remember the Great Recession? It’s coming again to a bank near you.

How can they do this, you ask?

Simple. When you deposit money in a checking or savings account, that money no longer belongs to you. Technically and legally, it becomes the property of the bank, and the bank just issues you what amounts to an IOU. As far as the bank is concerned, it’s an unsecured debt

up
0 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

karl pearson's picture

I wasn't aware of the bail-in. The article recommends doing business with a credit union, which I think is good advice.

up
0 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

Or how the banks and financial institutions and the IRS want us to be a cashless society.
We saw what happened in Greece when people tried to get their money out of the banks and they don't want us to keep our money out of them so they can get their hands on it. Plus the IRS thinks that if people keep their money 'under their mattresses' then they aren't reporting how much they have.
There are two countries in Europe that are trying the cashless society as a trial run.
gjohnsit has written about this maybe 6 months ago. Maybe you can find his essays.
I don't think that they are building a wall to keep people out, but to keep us in and the walls are closing in on us day by day. Sad
And yes, I think that credit unions are exempt from this for now.
I don't know why people use the big banks unless they aren't being hit by fees that drain their accounts.
During OWS there was a day of action for people to take their money out of the biggest banks and put it in credit unions instead.
Why reward their behavior by using them?
When Chase started charging me fees for not having direct deposit after I lost my job, I closed my account and went with a credit union that has been in operation for a long time.

up
0 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

snoopydawg's picture

is that banks can limit how much money one can withdraw at one time. I believe that was in his essay about this.
Less than $5,000 and closer to $3,000

up
0 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Creosote.'s picture

To how much you can withdraw from IRA funds in a one-year period.

up
0 users have voted.
riverlover's picture

10%/year. Annuitized is what they prefer, I am waiting until 65 to trigger that. Last year's return to me was 2%, I could have done better with the entire amount in my credit union.

up
0 users have voted.

Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

Creosote.'s picture

Even zero interest would be better than no savings at all.

up
0 users have voted.
ThoughtfulVoter's picture

In order to change your address on-line with the US Postal Service when you move, a credit card is required to verify your identity. You are then charged $1.00-what genius thought this up? When I tried first to do it at the post office counter, they referred me to the website. If you're too poor to have internet access or a credit card not sure what the options are, but I will ask next time I'm in my post office.

up
0 users have voted.
Oldest Son Of A Sailor's picture

You will finally see the Revolution start in earnest...
And it won't be the peaceful kind...

The bankers will be wishing they had been arrested, and convicted, with them being inside a nice safe cell at Hotel Greybar...

Instead of on the end of a rope thrown over a tree limb, or attached to a car bumper after being dragged out of their burning house...

History repeats itself until the lesson is learned, and they have no idea how close to the breaking point they are going...

up
0 users have voted.
"Do you realize the responsibility I carry?
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."

~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,
TheOtherMaven's picture

a lot of them would die of instant lead poisoning. (grim smile)

up
0 users have voted.

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Citizen Of Earth's picture

Sure, they can afford another bailout. Hahahaa.
Hellery will start WWIII in Iran which will draw in the Russians and Chinese. The Millennials will be marched off to die in that.
And the MIC smokestacks will continue belching. Same as it ever was.

up
0 users have voted.

Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.

Zenza's picture

I limit my online time so I mostly read,but I wanted to send my kudos for your clear and enlightening pieces...they make me feel as though I actually understand economics better! There are several here whose work I always dl for later offline perusal, and yours is definitely one.

up
0 users have voted.
tapu dali's picture

up
0 users have voted.

There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

ThoughtfulVoter's picture

up
0 users have voted.
Alligator Ed's picture

Whether the next bubble bursts before the election (giving us Trump) or after the election (giving us Hillary), we are well and truly fucked.

Quoting shockwave:

If the crash happens before November 7 Trump will win and proceed to destroy America and the world as we know it. If it happens after November 7 but before inauguration, Obama may put out the fire but the damage will be disastrous. If it happens after inauguration, Hillary will try to micromanage it and fail completely.

Actually, if Donald loses, I expect him to spend a good amount of time bolstering the beach defenses of his Scottish golf course.
Ih Shillary loses, she will try to micromanage the penitentiary to which she will be admitted

up
0 users have voted.

government providing savings accounts, ie, choosing to issue bonds, in excess of 100% of GDP is no problem.

Hopefully, more will be written, and like the idea of helicopter money, will get into the wider, more mainstream, conversation.

Helicopter money as its' being defined in the recent debates wouldn't add to the government "debt". That is, no government provided savings accounts in the form of treasury securities would be issued, ie, no debt instruments would be issued.

Under the law, treasury must issue bonds in the amount of it's deficits.

The central bank doesn't and can not issue bonds. It would simply mark up private bank accounts without also issuing bonds - which are just savings accounts at our central bank.

We could also just simply do away with issuing bonds, ie, debt instruments, and have Treasury be allowed to simply spend dollars into the economy.

Bonds - our debt instruments - are just a way to provide those who open a savings account at our central bank an extra income in the form of interest payments.

up
0 users have voted.
Big Al's picture

accept more war and imperialism. Hell, I'd guess less than 10% of the public even know that the U.S. is at war "against" Syria and Libya. They think it's against ISIS and Al Qaeda, the terrorists. They certainly will accept and have accepted the new Cold War that now includes China.
The next steps for the imperialists is to finish off Iran and take down Russia and China. They'll have no problem convincing the enough of the public to continue their quest.
There will be immediate calls to further expand the military budget as there have been in the last number of years. The imperial military reach is requiring more and more assets, upkeep and money. Congress is going to have to address the national debt and the military buildup which will lead to austerity measures. How the economy goes is anybody's guess but as usual it won't be favorable to majority of Serfs.

up
0 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

country and our freedoms.
I wish people would stop and think about how a group of terrorists could possibly take our freedoms away from us. That is the one of the biggest lies next to our troops died to defend our first amendment right to say anything we want. Or our God given rights. I don't remember Jefferson or Franklin saying that God sat in on the debate on writing the constitution.
Smile

up
0 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Wink's picture

in next year. So, I truly don't give a flying fuck about our so-called "Economy™." I'm soon out of our Economy™. Well, don't give a fuck short term, anyway. Long term... well, the 20-something and 30-something neices and nephews still need to find their way to 62 (or 65, or... ), so there is some long term concern. But, like many a Boomer I'm ready to leave the Economy™ and work force in the rear view mirror.

up
0 users have voted.

the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

k9disc's picture

economic policies.

"Socialism" will be to blame for our economic woes.

Ain't that some shit!

up
0 users have voted.

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

and they cheated him out of the election.

We don't have to let them erase that piece of history the way we've let them erase the Bush theft of the 2000 election, which, even in left-wing places like this one, is often relegated to a trivial incident that wouldn't have mattered if Gore had been a better candidate or if Nader hadn't run--or if so many FL Democrats hadn't voted for Bush. Etc.

There was a guy who said he was a socialist and proposed policies that would have saved us. The Democrats rigged the election against him and shoved this shit sandwich down our throats.

Let's keep that history alive. We're gonna need it.

up
0 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

k9disc's picture

I'd love to beat that idea down, but there's 8 years of propaganda to overcome.

Obama is clearly a ProBusiness neoliberal, but who's going to believe that?

up
0 users have voted.

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

The media spent quite a lot of time talking about how Bernie was a socialist.

The dumb media actually also helped him for quite a while by attacking programs--New Deal style programs--that Americans actually like a lot, and calling them socialism.

It's one of the few things that Bernie's campaign actually accomplished. Americans have a different sense of what socialism is now. It's still not accurate (Bernie isn't really a socialist) but it's a hell of a lot better than the "socialist is the devil"thing we were living with for the past 70 years.

CNN was so dumb that they actually displayed poll results that said that "only" 47% of Americans would be willing to vote for a socialist president, whereas 50% wouldn't. Which was within the margin of error, so, essentially, it was a toss-up!

And that was before the most hated politician in America visibly cheated that "socialist" out of the nomination he won.

up
0 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

of impeachment hearings within six months of taking office.

Donald Trump because he doesn't appear to have an understanding of the limits on executive power and will do something insanely stupid and provocative in this realm and yes, even the Republicans will want to impeach him in order to install the more tractable Pence.

Hillary, it goes without saying will still be responding to complaints about email leaks, obstructing Congress and FOIA, National Security, corruption, a whole cornucopia of issues which the Republican held Congress will delight in investigating.

Either of their administrations will make the Obama administration look like the Golden Age of Peace and Harmony.

up
0 users have voted.

" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

but then I wonder if, at the end of the day, the TPTB decide to take advantage of some of Trumps' appeal to achieve their ends.

up
0 users have voted.
TheOtherMaven's picture

Then he's Impeachment Insurance.

up
0 users have voted.

There is no justice. There can be no peace.