Italians Demanding Referendum on Euro – Only the People Can Save Europe

Source: armstrongeconomics



As Julius Caesar said: the die is cast. He also said I came, I saw, I conquered (Veni Vidi Vici). The entire idea of the Euro is a total disaster. This is now about a dictatorship in Brussels that has built a political infrastructure which will promote civil war in Europe – not peace and harmony. Now the biggest single party in the Italian parliament has at last expressed the will of the people – not an easy task in Europe these days. They are now demanding a euro referendum to end depression and save democracy. Hello! Remember Scotland? Spain? Greece? Maybe it will just take some Italians to clean up the mess.

The Economist may have called these two clowns, but they stand for democracy and just might have the last laugh. Beppe Grillo is an Italian comedian, actor, blogger and political activist. He has been involved in political activity since 2009 as the founder of the Italian political party Five Star movement. Beppe has launched a petition to drive for Italian withdrawal from Europe’s monetary union and for the restoration of economic sovereignty. Sometimes, it just may take an actor to get things moving – i.e. Ronald Reagan comes to mind.

Beppe has stated bluntly: “We must leave the euro as soon as possible.” This is a man who speaks the truth. It was the EU Commission who staged a secret coup against Italy robbing the people of their right to vote to ensure Berlusconi would be removed from office because he too wanted to take Italy out of the Euro. ONLY Italy can save Europe. After all, it was in Italy in 509BC where they overthrew the king and sparked the first Republican form of government that inspired the birth of Democracy in Greece within a few months.

Someone has to break the Euro to survive or we will see civil war in Europe. Italy could be the key for historically that is where it all began. History repeats – could it be Italy that takes down Brussels? Brussels may not be taking a leak on the rest of Europe much longer. Even the peripheral spreads are now rising for smart money is starting to see the handwriting on the wall. The EU Commission may only invite to Brussels career politicians because they know how to manipulate and survive, but they cannot hold Europe together by mere decree.

The US Pension Crisis – $2 Trillion Hole in Just Top 25 Funds

Source: ArmstrongEconomics



Moody’s has reported that the top 25 largest U.S. public pension funds face about $2 trillion in unfunded liabilities. This is what we see as the next great crisis post 2015.75. We are in a very serious economic crisis within the years ahead and we are preparing a very important report on this crisis. We will have this report out by year-end in time for the crisis that begins to materialize with no hope in sight. Believe it or not, we have traced the development of pensions and not merely how they destroyed Rome, but how they began as the marriage contract. Yep – you read it right,

Pension Funds Being Taken to Fund Infrastructure

Source: ArmstrongEconomics.com

The G20 Central Bankers and Finance Ministers met in CAIRNS, Australia, Sept 21st, 2014. This Summit reflects the attitudes about manipulating the economy where they just do not get it. Christine Largarde, head of the IMF, announced  “I congratulate the G20 for significant progress in strategies for medium-term growth.” However, Lagarde is a lawyer – not a trader, economist, money manager or anything that has any experience whatsoever to do with the economy. It amounts to me trying to be a obstetrician, gynecologist, or a divorce lawyer no less a brain surgeon. Yet she would be the first to say anyone without a law degree cannot understand the law. I dare say the same to her – you are not qualified. Such positions should be reserved for ONLY people with experience – not even university professors.

I warned what Obama was up to with the pension funds in trying to create a Infrastructure Fund. Calpers, California pension fund, is selling off $4 billion of hedge funds to divert that money to be wasted in Obama’s dream project – infrastructure fund. This idea was floated and endorsed at CAIRNS. “We have agreed to come away from government-financed growth measures to more private investment,” said Australia’s Finance Minister Joe Hockey. These are being called Public Private Partnerships (PPP), and will be extremely critical in the future for here lies the final destruction of the pension funds precisely as Japan bankrupted the Japanese Postal Saving Fund using that private money for political purposes to try to stimulate the economy, which failed. With PPP, public funds will be sold to the public as being a highly professional long-term investment that will further shrink economic growth and liquidity. They cannot possibly work.

Those in government think that is they simply spend money that will “stimulate” the economy. Their pet pro NEVER will these people simply just reduce regulation and taxes to encourage people to start their own business. Small business employs 70% of the civil work forced yet banks will lend only to big companies and the real economic engine has been slowing turning down for years since 2009. It is down in Europe sharply. Even in Europe, 2 out of 3 jobs are small business (defined as 50 employees or less). Nonetheless, the numbers appear to be far better than they are. As unemployment rises, many are simply fending for themselves in various manners but this is really the micro business market defined as less than 10 employees.

Obama’s idea of a Global Infrastructure Initiative to increase quality investment, particularly in infrastructure is merely to displace government spending with using pension money. In this way, government will not have to do the work and hopefully any tax increases will go to just filling their pockets.  How do pension funds make money on repairing infrastructure unless tolls will pop up everywhere. The are using pension from to avoid the image that someone like Goldman Sachs or Berkshire Hathaway will be collecting tolls.

Scottish Rigged Vote – Is Anything Real Any More? The Crisis in Democracy

Source: AmstrongEconomics

I have communicated directly with some Scots. I spoke to an 18 year old segment to get a perspective of the youth. They used the word that they wanted a “REVOLUTION”and feel very betrayed by what they called the over “65″ crowd. This is what our model has been warning about and why this is important. Unfunded liabilities are around the globe as populations enter the retirement age of the baby-boomers worldwide – post-World War II surge in births. The birth rate and marriage rate have been declining. Efforts are building around the globe to encourage women to have children. In Britain, the NHS is funding a sperm bank for lesbians.Just for starters, Germany, Japan, Russia, and Taiwan are paying women to have children and the list keeps going. Why? What happened to over population? The older generation is dying off and the social programs are gauging the younger generation causing taxation to rise and the youth cannot find work.

David Cameron basically said reading between the lines – the younger generation lost and their fate is now settled “for a generation.” This degree of arrogance is not going to be helpful. Governments will not reform and that brings us only to the point of our rising civil unrest that will rip the systems apart. No one in charge will address the long-term. They are only concerned about one vote at a time.

Now the recriminations. There is a rising tide among the YES camp that view the Scottish vote was rigged. There are videos and photographs emerging showing the votes rigged. There is a special focus on Dundee where photos are circulating on Twitter and Facebook demonstrating the rigging of the election. The polling stations also accused were directly in Edinburgh. This will be like Bush stealing the election in the USA and it will linger causing tremendous resentment in Scotland. The whole of Europe needed the Scottish NO vote. Since Brussels rigged the Italian elections, we cannot rule out their involvement behind the scenes yet in Scotland. This has led to so many in Scotland feeling they have been cheated and reduced to second class slaves of London and Brussels.

International Business Times is reporting the uproar. We all have to be deeply concerned given the fact that in Europe, the Commission is a dictatorship. The people can vote for a minister to be in Brussels, but the Commission does not have to abide by whatever the people want anyway. What must be understood is this is now about maintaining Brussels.They are paying themselves outrageous amounts of money for absolutely nothing. Just one EU Commissioner will get €400,000 for not working as reported by the Telegraph.

The EU Commission was threatened by Scotland because if they won their independence, the contagion would have engulfed all of Europe and that would cost political jobs in Brussels. This is not about what is good for Europe, it is what is now good for the politicians to keep their huge salaries.

The most interesting evidence of DISTRUST is the capital movement. One would expect the Euro and the pound to rally with the threat of separatism dead. Instead, The pound rallied moderately then fell but not the Euro. Capital is clearly aware that the game is still afoot.

Salmond Resigns – Cameron Breaks First Promise

Source: ArmstrongEconomics



Alex Salmond said Thursday’s vote for an independent Scotland had been “galvanizing, wonderful, empowering.” Nevertheless, he announce he would resign as the head of Scotland.

“My time as leader is nearly over, but for Scotland the campaign continues and the dream shall never die.”

Salmond said this is the time to now hold London to all its promises. ”We now have the opportunity to hold Westminster’s feet to the fire on the vow that they have made to devolve further meaningful power to Scotland.”

Indeed, during the last few weeks of the campaign, Prime Minister David Cameron and other London-based politicians were scared to death of a YES vote. Panic ran through their veins promised after all leaders signed a vow to devolve autonomy for Scotland if voters rejected separation. Cameron’s statements that this has settled the question for a generation is degrading to the younger generation to say the least.

Salmond saw how the EU leaders were rejoicing his defeat. Salmond has complained that Cameron has already broken his pledge the first morning that the government in London would put the question of independence to a vote in Parliament. Cameron has already said it is a dead issue so there will be no Parliamentary vote.

It is highly unlikely that all the promises made by Cameron will actually be carried out. Like the EU, the political leaders in London will not allow another referendum anytime soon. They are desperately trying to hold Europe together and the EU Commission will not allow any vote on exiting the Euro to say the least in any country.

This will be politics as usual. This is not about the people, it is all about holding on to power with every last breath.

Brussels Celebrates their Defeat of Scottish YES Vote

Source: ArmstrongEconomics



The Scottish Vote really cannot be believed and it appears more-likely-than-not to have been rigged with at least EU influence. In Brussels, they are celebrating no doubt with drinks on the EU Commission after the great Scottish “NO” vote. The EU had “not even a plan A”, how to deal with an independent Scotland, Parliament President Martin Schulz told the press. Barroso, Van Rompuy, Rasmussen are reported as being very pleased with their victory in defeating Scottish Independence.

It appears that Scotland was presenting a risk to the entire European continent that there was just no way they could allow a “YES” vote to take place. This raised the stakes way too high for the EU not to be involved behind the scenes. As we reported, this was an uprising of the youth and now others are starting to confirm that was the driving force.

US Separatist Movements

Source: ArmstrongEconomics



At the Berlin Conference we also stated that we would see the USA  split as well along political-economic and religious grounds. Reuters has now published the result of polls asking should your state separate from the United States. Here are the results. On average, one in four (25%) of Americans feel they should separate from Washington, DC. We will see the same trend of separation emerge after the 2016 Presidential Election. Civil unrest is coming to America sooner than you think. This will ignite old feelings of discontent as well which are both religious and race in America.

Scotland Votes Breakdown on Age

Source: ArmstrongEconomics




In terms of age, the 16-35 year-olds were divided, yet there was a pro union majority for the over 65 group counting on pensions.

• 16 and 17-year-olds voting 71% yes.
• 18-24-year-olds voted 52 to 48 against independence.
• 25-34-year-olds voted for Independence.
• 65s+ voted 73% to 27% to stay in the Union.

The results show that the No campaign won among men and women. Unsurprisingly, 95% of Conservative voters backed the Union. It is surprising that the religious card is being thrown around Social Media in heated debates when church attendance is a near record lows. Many people have drifted away from religion yet still define themselves as Protestant or Catholic. It seems that this is like the USA saying Russia is an enemy when the original issue was they were communists. It appears as though – once enemies – always enemies – even when views change and religion is not actively practiced by many these days yet it still seems to define people into groups.

This is illustrating the great disparity between generations. Not that they are hostile within the same household, but as groups – most definitely and this will only get worse as the economy turns down.

Stalin’s Words of Wisdom

Source: ArmstrongEconomics

“People who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.”

Recount demands in Scotland on several movements have exceeded 100,000 signatures. Even on Change.ORG petitions are popping up for a recount. I seriously doubt the EU or Westminster would ever allow that to happen.

Pending Pension Crisis – They Are Only a Promise

Source: ArmstrongEconomics.com

We have a major reform coming for the Pension field besides Obama trying to divert that money for infrastructure expenditure. The GASB Statement No. 68, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions, was issued in June, 2012 and is effective for fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2014. This statement is an amendment to GASB Statement No. 27, Accounting for Pensions by State and Local Governmental Employers and GASB Statement No. 50, Pension Disclosures.

This goes into effect for most public pensions during FYE 2016 as many have a Sept-Aug fiscal year. They are just starting to evaluate the effect .

In other words, governments are going to have to report the degree of funding for pensions. This will heighten the insolvency problem and it is right on schedule for 2016.

Even in Canada, the Ontario government faces a potential bill of $400-million to bail out U.S. Steel Canada Inc. pensioners if the steel maker’s pension plans are not restructured. Then we have companies laying off people a few year before they qualify for pensions. The entire crisis is a real global mess.

74% of all Municipals want to raise Taxes – Hello DEFLATION!

Source: ArmstrongEconomics.com

Municipal governments are going broke everywhere. This entire structure of government would never have been designed even by a moron. In Germany. a survey of 300 municipalities shows that 74% are planning to raise taxes. Now 27% plan to increase their cemetery fees, 25% want to demand more money for attending daycare or day schools. 21% plan to increase the property tax assessment rate, and 13% intend to raise the dog tax. (see latest German survery)

We are headed into this Sovereign Debt Crisis and Western Society as we know it cannot POSSIBLY exist. The problem with politicians is they just look at the people as a bottomless-pit of revenue to be taxed at will. They have no grand plan nor have they ever contemplated the long-term viability of such a system with no fiscal restraints whatsoever. They never see themselves as part of any problem – it is always the cheating people who do not hand them everything they demand.

This is the source of the civil unrest we see coming everywhere. Governments do not respect the people nor do they really care about our future. This is now all about them and they only see raising taxes rather than downsizing or reform.

In the United States, the resistance toward raising taxes to pay for repairs in infrastructure has the Obama Administration pitching the pension funds to join in and invest in an “infrastructure fund”. They are soliciting pension funds because they will benefit from tolls etc and that will be more palatable than watching you toll dollars go to bankers. The idea is this will be salable to the public. California’s pensions Capers is on board and have already announced they will liquidate $4 billion from hedge funds. They have not announced where they will shift that money, but it appears they are getting ready for another Obama star project up there with Obamacare.

State and local government cannot print money. This is the DEFLATIONARY aspect that first impacts society. Courts begin to rule only in government’s favor and you then see the collapse of investment and society as a whole when the rule of law vanishes. The higher they raise taxes, the lower the disposable income, the lower the economic growth, and the higher we will see unemployment. Government wastes money – they consume capital and are incapable of producing anything worthwhile to contribute the economic growth. This is why government MUST be restricted to defined percentages of GDP to prevent it from growing like corporations until they become so big, they are unable to function.

Public unions are already advocating just taking money from other sectors to pay them. This is precisely the same trend that unfolded in Rome setting in motion the decline and fall. When Rome could not fund its pensions to the military, they began numerous revolutions and that justified sacking cities that opposed their wishes.

As Rome could not pay the troop pensions, they tore the empire apart at the seams. This is what lowered the defenses allowing the Barbarians to finally invade. Rome fell from within for the same faulty structure of fiscal mismanagement. The inflation (debasement) in the currency was NOT the cause of the fall of Rome, it was the symptom that followed the corruption.

So pay attention. It is the DEFLATION that comes FIRST. Inflation NEVER appears first with nothing driving it. It has always been the expansion of government that unfolds FIRST that later manifests in inflation only when you cross that point of no return in PUBLIC CONFIDENCE. As taxes were raised on property, people began to vacate the cities. The population of Rome collapsed as property values fell due to rising taxes. Sound familiar? Only with rising taxation did people just start to migrate away from Rome.

The Roman Emperor Diocletian (284-305AD) introduced passports. Not to travel from one country to another, but to be able to travel at all AFTER you were verified that you owed no taxes. Today, the US has introduced a law that if you owe the government $50,000 in taxes, they can revoke your passport until you pay. Wonderful how history repeats.

Predicting the Future – Not So Hard

Source: ArmstrongEconomics.com

QUESTION: Hi Mr. Armstrong,

I just read your 1997 Edinburgh transcript which you posted. It sounds like you could have written it today, which brings me to my question. It seems that we have drifted through the last 17 years dealing with the same corrupt systems and find ourselves in the same position, so why do you think markets and societies around the globe are going to deteriorate so dramatically over the next 17 years into 2032? As the old saying goes, “The more things change, the more things stay the same”, or as Einstein might have added, “We are at a relative standstill.”

Always fascinated by your work,

MB

ANSWER: This is why I say it’s like a Shakespeare’s play – the plot is always the same, only the actors change. It is just a question of time. The reason we go into crisis is because each wave builds in intensity. The 2007-2011 decline was the worst since the Great Depression. The bankers went too far. The level of bailout has been massive and the low-level of interest rates was set in motion because of that chaos the bankers created.

Public pessimism is now at historical highs as is the lack of retail participation in stocks. There is no BUBBLE in the stock market without optimism. We have unemployment running with the fictional number of 7% still a 150% above the level prior to the Great Depression. Hence we are at higher and higher levels from one cycle to the next. So the next turn 2015-2020 will be worst than the last. By 2032, I seriously doubt we will exist as we have known it. Just as communism collapsed, we are facing the same collapse from socialism. This is not about helping the less fortunate – this is about government helping themselves to our income.

Communism did not tax you because they owned everything. We have socialism where we own everything, but they tax that ownership pretending it is for our benefit. Don’t pay your property taxes and see how long the state will take to throw you out on the street with nothing. They have no problem leaving people homeless when the money benefits them.

We call something “Draconian” because Draco of Athens passed laws and when you could not pay your taxes and interest, you lost the farm. However, he did not throw you out on the street. You were then a slave working your own land for Draco and his buddies.

We have nothing left. There is no appreciable difference between communism that restricted movement and socialism that they can also restrict your movement until you pay your taxes. It is always about them.

The problem is systemic and reemerges every single time – WITHOUT EXCEPTION!. Only the actors change from one crisis to the next and it is merely pattern after pattern on top of yet other patterns. It does not take a soothsayer to figure out the future. Nobody has to visit me in my dreams or in the middle of the night. This is just the same thing over and over again. I use to ask audiences what famous senator said these works above. In the 1980s, they would always reply it must be a Republican in Reagan’s camp.

I became friends with Lady Thatcher for in the 1980s you could have intelligent conversations with real leaders. Those days are gone. Lady Thatcher addressed our conference and stated publicly that governments should look at cycles. That was a huge endorsement of our technology.

Snowden revealed that the NSA can watch as you type and predict your thoughts. How? It is cyclical based and about patterns. The future can be revealed. They problem – does anyone really listen or say hey – let’s try something different for one time?

Entire Leadership of ISIS Opposition Wiped Out by ‘Unexplained’ Explosion in Syria

SOURCE: BREITBART

Nearly fifty senior commanders of a major coalition of Islamic ‘moderates’ opposed to ISIS in Syria have been killed by an explosion at their secret command bunker as they met to discuss strategy against the the Islamic State.

The blast in the Northwest region of Idlib, Syria on Tuesday killed senior members of rebel group the Ahrar-al-Sham brigade (AaS), including leader Hassan Abboud and 45 others including senior members from other rebel alliance groups, reports The Times. The Idlib region stands in AaS territory, but it is close to the front-line with ISIS in neighbouring Aleppo.

Sources dispute the source of the blast, with it being unclear whether it was an opposition group, suicide bomber, or accidental explosion at a nearby ammunition dump. Regardless, the incident will destabilise and possibly tear apart the AaS group and associated Islamic Front Coalition which was recently described as “the most powerful armed group in Syria”.

Islamic group Ahrar-al-Sham, whose name translates as ‘The Free Men of Syria’, is one of many movements competing in the inter-rebel conflict in Syria. A number of rebel groups are presently fighting each other as well as besieged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose power base is in West and South-West, for overall control of the Region.

Read more

It’s Official: America is an Oligarchy and NOT a Democracy or a Republic

Source: WashingtonsBlog.com

Scientific Study Shows that the U.S. Is an Oligarchy

We noted last year:

American democracy – once a glorious thing – has devolved into an oligarchy, according to two leading IMF officials, the former Vice President of the Dallas Federal Reserve,  the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Moody’s chief economist and many others.

But don’t take their word for it …

A new quantitative study by Princeton’s Martin Gilens and Northwestern’s Benjamin Page finds that America is not a democracy … but is an oligarchy.

Here’s a quick visual overview from the study:

In other words, when the fatcats want something, it will probably happen.  But when the little guys want something … not so much.

Highlights from the study:

A great deal of empirical research speaks to the policy influence of one or another set of actors, but until recently it has not been possible to test these contrasting theoretical predictions against each other within a single statistical model. This paper reports on an effort to do so, using a unique data set that includes measures of the key variables for 1,779 policy issues.

Economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence. Our results provide substantial support for theories of Economic Elite Domination and for theories of Biased Pluralism, but not for theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy or Majoritarian Pluralism.

Very few studies have offered quantitative evidence concerning the impact of interest groups based on a number of different public policies.

Prior to the availability of the data set that we analyze here, no one we are aware of has succeeded at assessing interest group influence over a comprehensive set of issues, while taking into account the impact of either the public at large or economic elites – let alone analyzing all three types of potential influences simultaneously.

The chief predictions of pure theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy can be decisively rejected. Not only do ordinary citizens have uniquely substantial power over policy decisions; they have little independent influence on policy at all.

By contrast, economic elites are estimated to have a quite substantial, highly significant, independent impact on policy.

These results suggest that reality is best captured by mixed theories in which both individual economic elites and organized interest groups (including corporations, largely owned and controlled by wealthy elites) play a substantial part in affecting public policy, but the general public has little or no independent influence.

When a majority – even a very large majority – of the public favors change, it is likely to get what it wants.  In our 1,779 policy cases, narrow pro-change majorities of the public got the policy changes they wanted only about 30% of the time. More strikingly, even overwhelmingly large pro-change majorities, with 80% of the public favoring a policy change, got that change only about 43% of the time.

Our findings probably understate the political influence of elites.

What do our findings say about democracy in America? They certainly constitute troubling news for advocates of “populistic” democracy, who want governments to respond primarily or exclusively to the policy preferences of their citizens. In the United States, our findings indicate, the majority does rule — at least not in the causal sense of actually determining policy outcomes. When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organized interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the U.S. political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favor policy change, they generally do not get it.

If policy making is dominated by powerful business organizations and a small number of affluent Americans, then America’s claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened.

No wonder the chairman of the Department of Economics at George Mason University said that politicians are not prostitutes, they are pimps … pimping out their services to the highest bidder.

The Supreme Court is not much better: their allowance of unlimited campaign spending allows the oligarchs to purchase politicians more directly than ever.

Moreover, there are two systems of justice in America … one for the big banks and other fatcats, and one for everyone else.

And not only do we not have democracy, but we also no longer have a free market economy.  Instead, we have fascism, communist style socialism,kleptocracy, banana republic style corruption, or – yes – “oligarchy“.