No Holding Back

Not so long ago, bankers, regulators, and industry insiders went out of their way to avoid saying things that might be seen as alarmist or inflammatory. But a lot has changed over the past two years. Instead of being concerned about inciting panic, for instance, those who know what's going now seem to feel almost duty-bound to spill the beans as bluntly and in as detailed a fashion as possible. In "Soros Sees no Bottom for World Financial 'Collapse,'" Reuters reports on the scary prognostications of two well-regarded old hands of the financial world.

Renowned investor George Soros said on Friday the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis.

Soros said the turbulence is actually more severe than during the Great Depression, comparing the current situation to the demise of the Soviet Union.

He said the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September marked a turning point in the functioning of the market system.

"We witnessed the collapse of the financial system," Soros said at a Columbia University dinner. "It was placed on life support, and it's still on life support. There's no sign that we are anywhere near a bottom."

His comments echoed those made earlier at the same conference by Paul Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman who is now a top adviser to President Barack Obama.

Volcker said industrial production around the world was declining even more rapidly than in the United States, which is itself under severe strain.

"I don't remember any time, maybe even in the Great Depression, when things went down quite so fast, quite so uniformly around the world," Volcker said.

Comments

[dave]

There are TWO things that sell: SEX & FEAR! These armageddon types all depend on YOUR fears to sell SHIT. Y2K was supposed to be what this is supposed to be, right? Okay, so buy non-perishable foods and solar panels. Only problem is... the food runs out eventually and if the system collapses, the solar panels won't pickup and radio or TV signals as there won't be any! So you can read your BIBLE by solar powered lights... for the next 30 years... just SHOOT ME NOW! Some things are NOT worth surviving. LATER.

[Patrick]

Point is, the guy is right. We're completely fucked. Just look at Eastern Europe, whose downfall will trigger some severe problems in "Old Europe".

The ONE good thing about this whole crisis is the possibility to introduce a major systemic change in how the world is functioning.

Let's be honest: Pure Capitalism, like pure Communism, has never existed. It's always influenced by politics and the lobbyists of the ones who control the money. Privatize the gains and socialize the losses, eh?

What the world will look like in a couple of years I don't know. But any much worse than now is not possible, IMHO. However, it will change. If you don't want to be part of it, then leave. Pills provide a painless death I heard.

If you are curious enough to see what's next, then hold on and prepare (Gold & Silver, Land, several months of supply, NO debt), and enjoy the ride.

Maybe, you could even help to make the world a better place.

[Tim]

Not being scared out of your mind is now the contrarian view.

[Jennifer]

Really, your life's worth is based on you ablity to watch tv and listen to the radio? How sad! You do realize the world is full of millions of other books you could read, or hey, maybe you could even interact and form relationships with other human beings!

[George]

In the light of the first comment of Dave... This is the solution for people like you, but you will have to shoot yourself !
You live for everything material that exists, your house, boat, Harley and so on. Look for a book to enlight you and get over loosing everything and star anew. That is the reason America is going down because of empty heads like yours.

[Gary]

Oh Look! Good! New York Fed (Timmy) pushing for CDS Clearinghouse with
CME!! Breaking....
Oh...from last June...oh well...no hurry...

http://www.pionline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080611/REG/68723...

[roger]

Merchandising of fear is good business(ask any politician)
Coming up with solutions requires brains--- not to many
around these days

[Bruce Smith]

The wealth of America has always been in its head, meaning it's people have always worked hard, sacrificed for the future and thought out of the box. Now: hard work; sacrifice; creative thought? Anybody out there? Anybody interested? Hello? Hello! (no answer - the TV must be on)

[DocG]

I'm with Dave. "The ONE good thing about this whole crisis is the possibility to introduce a major systemic change in how the world is functioning." It's Perestroika time, folks. But this time in reverse. It took a major economic collapse to get the powers that be to pay attention to "the taxpayer" aka "the consumer" and realize that the welfare of us poor slobs might just be worth paying attention to for a change. Until last summer, the fact that the average person in the USA couldn't get a decent paying job and had no choice but to borrow over his or her head just to keep that head above water didn't seem to matter. Now suddenly it's up to us to pay back those loans, pay our credit card bills and spend spend spend so the "economy" can get "back on track." WHY would anyone other than a millionaire or billionaire want that phony economy anything but dead? So we're tossed a bone, in the form of a possible temporary job, and a teensy weensy tax cut that means nothing, the opportunity to get COBRA coverage (which isn't much less expensive than the other kind), and not much of anything else. But, hey, at least they are listening to us for a change.

Hey, Dave, if you want to see some ideas for how things could change in a positive way, and discuss some of your own ideas, visit Mr. Mole at Mole in the Ground: http://amoleintheground.blogspot.com/