Category Archive: 5.) Charles Hugh Smith

Why This Recession Is Different

All of these are structural dynamics that won't go away in a few months or years.Let's explore what's different now compared to recessions of the past 60 years.1. Deglobalization is inflationary. Offshoring production to low-cost countries imported deflation (product prices remained flat or declined) and boosted corporate profits.

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The EU’s Crisis Is Global

The EU's crisis isn't limited to energy. It is a manifestation of the global breakdown of Neocolonialism, Financialization and Globalization. The European Union (EU) was seen as the culmination of a centuries-long process of integration that would finally put an end to the ceaseless conflicts that had led to disastrous wars in the 20th century that had knocked Europe from global preeminence.

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Why Some Cities May No Longer Be Viable

Any city whose lifeblood ultimately depends on hyper-globalization and hyper-financializationwill no longer be viable. The human migration from the countryside to cities has been an enduring feature of civilization.Cities concentrate wealth, productivity and power, and so they're magnets to talent and capital, offering newcomers the greatest opportunities.

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The Global Energy Crunch

If we insist on doing the transition the hard, slow, costly way rather than the easy, fast, cheap way, it's going to be a needlessly arduous, soul-crushing slog. Let's cover a few common-sense points and ask a few questions about the Global Energy Crunch.

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The System Is Busy Cannibalizing Itself

As the word suggests, cannibalism won't end well for those consumed by the infinitely insatiable few. Cannibalize is an interesting word. It is a remarkably graphic way to describe the self-inflicted destruction of a system by stripping previously functional subsystems to sustain the illusion of system functionality. Here are some examples.

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Make Sure You Download the Latest Ministry of Propaganda Updates

While it's fun to sort all the propaganda into various boxes, we would do well to look for what all the marketers / MoP players seek to mystify. It's time once again to check for Ministry of Propaganda updates, which like Windows and iOS is constantly being updated to counter new threats and enhance the user experience (heh).

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The Roundtable Insight – Charles Hugh Smith on the Insanity of Central Banks in Addressing Inflation

Support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/roundtableinsight http://financialrepressionauthority.com/2022/08/26/the-roundtable-insight-charles-hugh-smith-on-the-insanity-of-central-banks-in-addressing-inflation/

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What’s Worse Than Inflation? Depression + Inflation

If "markets" controlled by the rich are allowed to distribute essentials, the result will be civil disorder and the overthrow of regimes. What's worse than inflation? Depression + Inflation. And that's where we're heading. As I explained yesterday in The Fed Can't Stop Supply-Side Inflation, central banks are trying to reduce inflation by crushing demand.

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The Fed Can’t Stop Supply-Side Inflation

The Fed and other central banks have zero control of supply-driven inflation, period. America's financial punditry is bewitched by four fatal fantasies: 1. Inflation is demand-driven. If the Federal Reserve (or other central banks) reduce demand with monetary tools like raising interest rates, inflation will cool. 2. Substitution of high-cost goods with lower-cost goods reduces inflation, and substitution is infinite: there's always cheaper...

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The Real Story of America Abandoning the Gold Standard

Even currencies maintaining convertibility to gold are still subject to bond yields, interest rates, trade and capital flows. It's widely held that all of our financial woes are the result of abandoning the discipline of the gold standard in 1971. The premise here is that if the U.S. had maintained the gold standard, the excesses of the fiat currencies regime could not have arisen.

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A Tale of Two Recessions: One Excellent, One Tumultuous

Events may show that there are no winners, only survivors and those who failed to adapt.Some recessions are brief, necessary cleansings in which extremes of leverage and speculation are unwound via painful defaults, reductions of risk and bear markets. Some are reactions to exogenous shocks such as war or pandemic.

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A Most Peculiar Recession

So what are conventional pundits missing today? I would start with three dynamics. Only old people experienced real recessions--those in 1973-74 and 1980-82. Recessions since then have been shorter and less systemic. In the good old days, a recession laid waste to entire industries which never recovered their previous employment.

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Are Older Workers Propping Up the U.S. Economy?

Are 55 and older workers propping up the U.S. economy? The data is rather persuasive that the answer is yes.The chart of U.S. employment ages 25 to 54 years of age and 55 and older reveals a startling change.There are now 20 million more 55+ employed than there were in 2000, an equivalent of the entire workforce of Spain.

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Can We "Export Inflation?" Yes We Can, Yes We Are

A strong currency exports inflation to those nations which do not issue the currency. Though it's difficult to be confident of anything in the current flux, I am pretty confident of three things: 1) price is set on the margins 2) currencies are the foundation of every economy 3) the financial forecasts issued to calm the public do not reflect operative geopolitical goals.

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How Much of "Inflation" Is the Price Being Jacked Up Under the Excuse of "Inflation"?

The problem for global corporations feasting on "Inflation" profiteering is that the vast majority of consumers can't afford another lavish vacation, overpriced vehicle or specious subscription.

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When You Can’t Go On by Charles Hugh Smith, Chapter by Chapter

Hear it Here - adbl.co/3OFQ1MB When I burned out, what I wanted but could not find was a practical guide by someone who had experienced burnout themselves. None of the material I found spoke to what I was experiencing or to my sense that our economy is now optimized to burn people out. I decided to write the guide I wanted but could not find. This is my experience of burnout, reckoning and renewal. This book is my account of what helped me....

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The Roundtable Insight – Charles Hugh Smith on the USD, Emerging Markets and Investment Implications

Http://financialrepressionauthority.com/2022/07/28/the-roundtable-insight-charles-hugh-smith-on-the-usd-emerging-markets-and-the-investment-implications/ Support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/roundtableinsight

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What Can The Beatles Teach Us about Management?

Own your work. Don't give it away or let others profit at your expense. Leverage it when opportunities arise. What can The Beatles teach us about management?Young readers may wonder why The Beatles still matter 52 years after the band broke up. It's a fair question.

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When You Can’t Go On: Burnout, Reckoning and Renewal By: Charles Hugh Smith

Hear it Here - adbl.co/3OFQ1MB When I burned out, what I wanted but could not find was a practical guide by someone who had experienced burnout themselves. None of the material I found spoke to what I was experiencing or to my sense that our economy is now optimized to burn people out. I decided to write the guide I wanted but could not find. This is my experience of burnout, reckoning and renewal. This book is my account of what helped me. The...

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There Won’t Be Any Winners Because The Status Quo Is Corrupt Everywhere

Systemic corruption on this vast scale optimizes failure and collapse. Debating which nations will "win" as the global economy unravels is a popular but pointless parlor game.Since the status quo in every nation is deeply, profoundly, systemically corrupt, there won't be any "winners," there will only be losers.

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