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Page added on October 4, 2016
Kunstler: Sizing Up the Endgame
All Hillary had to do last week was show up and stand at a podium for ninety minutes without swooning while Donald Trump barked and grunted his way through the half-assed press conference we like to call a “debate.” It was all I could do to keep watching the nauseating spectacle. It made you want to reach out and whap your TV upside its head, or maybe just shoot the fucker, like Elvis used to do.
The torment of who or what to vote for has become unbearable. I’d considered casting mine for Johnson / Weld, until Gary Johnson demonstrated that the front end of his brain is missing. Aleppo? Wasn’t he one of the Marx Brothers? I sense that Jill Stein of the Green Party is more Social Justice Warrior than EcoWarrior, and the last thing I want is for the rest of America to become one big college campus rife with trigger warnings and micro-aggression persecutions. Vote for Trump? Not if you chained me to the back bumper of a Toyota Landcruiser and dragged me over six miles of broken light bulbs. Hillary? Make that nine miles, and throw down some carpet tacks.
But wait a minute…! Here’s something to consider: a proposition put out by David McAlvany on his podcast last week: To Understand Election 2016 You Have to See 2020. (The new podcast is posted on Wednesdays, so to listen after Oct 5 you’ll have to click back a week.) The idea is that the winner of the presidential election is sure to be the biggest loser because the global economy is in the process of tanking, Long Emergency style, and the global finance system is going down with it. Whoever presides over this fiasco from the White House is going to be a bigger bag-holder than old Herbert Hoover in 1929.
The salutary part of the story is that such an epochal crack-up will sweep the establishment out of power. In the present case, this means discrediting the crony-capitalist, revolving-door grifters of the Wall Street / Washington axis, plus the neo-con military empire-builders bent on starting World War Three for profit, plus the economic central planners of the Federal Reserve whose desperate meddlings have nearly destroyed the necessary operations and meaning of money. And the cherries on top to get thrown out with the rest of this giant shit sundae would be the campus cultural Maoists. In short, vote for Hillary and let history flush them all out of the system.
A vote for Trump would let the aforesaid villains and bunglers off the hook because supposedly Trump represents free market business interests, and if he got elected they would be blamed for the economic and financial cataclysm which has been in motion for going on for two decades — and has accelerated mightily under the genial Obama. Whatever else you might say about free markets, had they been allowed to operate naturally, a lot of dead wood might have been cleared out of the financial forest by allowing failing institutions and companies to crash and burn. Instead, they were artificially propped up and hosed down with bailouts and other accounting frauds at all costs. The cost turns out to be the coherent workings of markets.
There can be little question that Hillary represents so much that has gone wrong in American public life under the Baby Boomer regime. The fact that she will be the oldest president ever at inauguration itself says a lot about the limitless cupidity of the Boomer political gen. They just don’t know when to stop. It’s history’s job to stop them now, nature’s way, by seating them at the banquet of consequences for all their poisonous cookery and quackery.
Watching these lamebrain debates, you get the impression that the folks running things, including media stars like the debate moderators, lack the slightest clue about the gathering economic storm. They are too busy reading the false weather reports posted by the Fed and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both Hillary and Trump seem to believe that we can winkle our way back to a 1962-style economy if we click our ruby slippers three times. That is not going to happen.
There are too many people on-board the planet and too few resources to keep them all going. It’s hard to say whether we might have managed the necessary contraction, say, starting back in the 1970s when the writing was on the wall and a truly honest president (one Jimmy Carter) spelled it out in plain English. We blew it, electing Ronald Reagan to enable the final feeding frenzy of the techno-industrial age.
Now it’s up to natural forces — and their galloping horsemen — to get the job done. So let us by all means throw our votes behind Hillary and let her rip so we can move on from there sooner rather than later and find new ways to remain civilized in the coming disposition of things.
29 Comments on "Kunstler: Sizing Up the Endgame"
Davy on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 6:28 am
Please, enlighten me on the next trick coming out of the hat from the global economy’s magicians? Clog, are renewables going to fix your banking sector? I can see all those panels on top those glass bank structures powering a new European banking sector into profitability.
“Bill Blain On Today’s “Big Contrarian Trade”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-04/bill-blain-todays-big-contrarian-trade
“The news across the European banking sector remains utterly and completely dire. Who would possibly want banks when they are “not really investible as a sector”, and “under siege”. These comments are made more shocking as they’re direct from the lips of bank CEOs!”
“The press is full of woe – front pages speak of utter despair about the dismal outlook for financial institutions in the face of regulatory overkill, and that is only one aspect. Dismal ROE, overbanked markets and the inability of banks to swiftly restructure due to red-tape labour laws and political “forces” contribute to the pain. Informed comment analyses the effect of margin dilution on the back of ZIRP, and fears the unintended consequences and future unwind costs of the great monetary experiment that was QE.”
“Without a functioning banking transmission mechanism, remind me what the point of extraordinary monetary policy, including QE, was? Perhaps some junior lieutenant in the ECB will shortly announce: “In order to save European banking we had to destroy it”. It might not be as silly a comment as it sounds.”
Davy on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 6:48 am
MSM doom.
“Existential Threat to World Order Confronts Elite at IMF Meeting”
http://tinyurl.com/j2nrmxu
Policy-making elites converge on Washington this week for meetings that epitomize a faith in globalization that’s at odds with the growing backlash against the inequities it creates. From Britain’s vote to leave the European Union to Donald Trump’s championing of “America First,” pressures are mounting to roll back the economic integration that has been a hallmark of gatherings of the IMF and World Bank for more than 70 years. Fed by stagnant wages and diminishing job security, the populist uprising threatens to depress a world economy that International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde says is already “weak and fragile.”
penury on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 9:11 am
The meme being pushed hard this week is “if the stock market esp the S&P goes up in Oct Hillary will win the election. So Janet said the Fed will buy stocks, Keep the illusion, keep repeating the meme to thee sheep and guess what? They will be right because the average voter has fewer abilities to think than the average Saluki.
joe on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 9:59 am
Those with a short memory (90% of people) wont care in 3 years whats happens today, for anyone else, the sense of hypocrisy and “didnt this happen before?” will drill into your skull and feel like a burning nail driving into its core. Humans are were and will be hypocites, far more than we are good, we are bad. We hurt and kill each other, and we can justify it however we want. Some use a koran, others fight extremism, some use a bible, others blame poverty, its all the same. (Revenge is probobly the most honest one). Reasons are essentially not important. Right now the world faces two conflicting challanges. While liberals have been busy squashing decent and promoting globalisation and non – interference, the rest of the world has been busy overpopulating itself with young people for which there are no jobs and a belief that everything wrong is because of mossad or the cia and somthimes kgb or whatever its called now. Then mix in politics of the right wing liberals and the astonishingly shortsightedness of the post ww2 US political system, we are led to a quickly emerging point of inflection and crisis. America is poised to oversee the implosion of Europe and the ripping up of the middle eastern map, it has essentially ensured Iran gets nukes (to justify Saudi getting them imo) North Korea is now safe from all Americans frothing at the mouth about them now that they have totally demonstrated advanced nuclear capacity. Yet the world is supposed to be enamoured with a system that has been a global calamity? From litterally lying about Iraqi wmd, the US supports al qeada in Syria (friends of friends doesnt cut the mustard, the CIA knows damn well where those weapons are going) just to get one over on the only nation left that thumbs its nose at old glory, and has done since the US and Britain failed to defeat Russia in open war after ww1 (the war we all forgot ).
Its sad that America holds a grudge so long, but none of that matters because we have all brought ourselves to this crisis point which is this, a serious attempt by some of the elites to integrate the entire world economically and politically. Their insane idealistic dream will ensure the fracture of society so that we will gain the worst of all worlds. A young and pointless third world, an old and disintegrating western world. And I haven’t talked much about peak oil or climate change.
Plantagenet on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 10:38 am
The lesser of two evils is still evil.
Who the heck wants to vote for evil?
ghung on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 10:55 am
“Evil” is relative, Planty; a human construct.
Kenz300 on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 11:15 am
Paid no taxes, divorced how many times, degrades women, does not respect veterans and their families, is making money from his campaign funneling money to his businesses, has questionable charity contributions, filed for bankruptcy multiple times,
takes huge tax breaks at the taxpayers expense, flip flops on issues,
The top 1% want it all and the RepubliCON party will give it to them.
Hawkcreek on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 12:33 pm
It depresses me to see that most people still want to believe that “their” party is better than the other guys.
Planty is right —- they are both evil. You are right, however, about the top 1% wanting it all. The problem is that the top 1% own both sides.
Elmer on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 12:56 pm
If you itemize the positions of the 2 parties and if one party supports 95% of what I agree with and the other party opposes 95% of the things I agree with, I’d say there is a very clear choice available tome. We have to accept the “lesser of 2 evils” all the time in life….very little is perfect I’m sorry to say no matter how many mental contortions you have the time and energy to waste to convince yourself otherwise. You have to move in the direction of better options, not worse options.
It boggles my mind that the goofy Trump has generated the kind of support he has today. He’s a reality TV personality….a fake wrestling (WWE) star. Maybe the epitome of the rich, spoiled brat. What are his qualifications to run the world’s most powerful government? How do people dismiss his unending lying, petty insults and spooky egotism? He gets away with rotten, childish behavior that would have been unheard of in any previous election. Mindless violent TV shows, money worshippers and right-wing nutcase media have all had their impact on society and helped create and enable this monster. Whether elected or not, he will have succeeded in bringing down our society another big notch towards misery and chaos. More than any other modern U.S. politician, he has made millions of people comfortable in their denial of facts/science/societal rules. Not what we need to make even a half-way humane transition away from fossil fuels and environmental destruction.
Apneaman on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 1:06 pm
Kenz300, absolutely correct. You forgot the other list though. Hillary’s list is just and long and deceitful as Trumps (probably longer), except there is nothing in Trumps list that qualifies as treason or mass murder. Mostly because he hasn’t been a politician or political appointee yet. If there was actual justice in this world, Trump would get a huge fine and do some minimum security time and get punched out a couple of times for running his mouth. Hillary would be executed for treason in her own country and crimes against humans internationally. Kenz, you too – just one more screeching monkey wrapped up in your ideology and will probably remain like that until death. I doubt you have changed your mind on anything since you were a highschool senior.
“An unexamined life is not worth living”
Anonymous on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 1:23 pm
Elemer says
“What are his qualifications to run the world’s most powerful government?”
What indeed. But if the ‘Donald’ lacks qualifications, what exactly are Killay Clint-ons? By any objective measure, shes just as ‘unqualified’ to run as he is. The ‘donald’, beat out a group of other equally unqualified amerikan imbeciles, (Cruz, Bush-the-other-one, Rubio etc, and Shillary, rigged the nomination with the help of party insiders.(Because you know, she couldnt win w/o cheating). Both so-called ‘dems and rebub insiders work for the same group btw. And when leaked emails proved this came to light, her handlers invented a ridiculous story that ‘Russia (Putin) was somehow behind it all. But that brings us to the heart of the matter. You still be of the belief something call the ‘president’ actually controls something called ‘the worlds most powerful government’.
The first statement of course, is demonstrably false. Presidents do not ‘control’ much of anything. That is why the ‘donald’ has gotten as far as he has. You don’t have to be ‘qualified’ anything to be a uS ‘president’. You just need to have the approval of the amerikas real rulers, the corporate, mil-indust elites. Being able to say and do whatever you are told and not go off script, is not the most demanding thing you know. No other ‘qualifications’ necessary.
As for the idea the uSgov is worlds most ‘powerful’, that characterization is questionable too. You sound like an exceptionalist. Now, if you had said the worlds most corrupt, or worlds most corruptible’, no argument. But most ‘powerful’? Debatable. The ‘formal’ uSgov seems mostly powerless to address even the most basic of issues it is nomically tasked with ‘solving’. That is a feature of course, not a bug. About the only thing it does well, is funnel largess to the .1% and commit massive violence at home and abroad.
So yea, vote for whichever lesser of two amerikan imbeciles makes you less unhappy.
Hawkcreek on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 1:57 pm
If you have two parties that “say” they have different platforms and want different outcomes, but their “actions” say that they have the same goal of enriching the 1%, they why would you support either party?
Actions do speak louder than words.
It won’t get better until we dust off the guillotines.
Elmer on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 2:49 pm
Anonymous, what is your solution to this problem? You can cry all you want, but these are the 2 candidates the system gave us. At this point in time, it seems prudent to vote for the viable candidate that most reflects your views….isn’t that what voting is all about? You can also vote for some other non-viable candidate or don’t vote at all. It’s your choice, assuming you are a US citizen. Why keep complaining about the system and candidates at this point when there is no other meaningful path to travel up until election time? Continuous complaining about the system may be warranted in a dictatorship but since the US is supposed to be a democracy, that generally means making a choice and making the best use of the hand you are dealt. Endless complaining just seems like Fatalism to me. If you don’t like the system or candidates, get out and fight for change in the next election cycle….that kind of involvement is what has helped change things in the past. Democracy is tough work for citizens but presently everyone wants easy solutions. The lack of civil involvement is well-documented. Fatalism doesn’t accomplish much and can make things a lot worse. Fatalism can be fatal. And the False Equivalency arguments strewn about to compare the 2 candidates…that’s just another form of fatalism in my opinion. Also, now that I think about it, the better description of the imperfect Clinton is not the “lesser evil” but the “highly superior alternative to the crazy Trump.” So, I will vote for the highly superior alternative to crazy Trump if that makes you feel better.
BTW—It should be obvious that Presidents yield a tremendous amount of control and power….the nuclear trigger, selections to the Supreme Court and other Federal courts, international relations, direction of the military, the mood and direction of the country, and on and on. GW Bush didn’t yield any control over the Federal government? If nothing else he enabled the war mongers and religious extremists and the assorted no-nothings. The middle east quagmire was ignited by Bush and the people HE installed into power. And wouldn’t our energy/environmental policy be a little different if Gore had been President?
Davy on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 3:53 pm
Elmer, Anonymous is a 20 something from Toronto Canada. His life system is based on anti-Americanism. He is not going to show you balance or reason in his comments. He is going to show you extremism and delusion. He is a freak show. Just check out his writing style and vocabulary. He is a fruit cake.
Apneaman on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 3:53 pm
Elmer, don’t be so bloody naive. You sound like you have been brainwashed by Oprah & Tony Robbins. There is no democracy. America is technically a republic and is supposed to function as a representative democracy, but the level of that has dropped dramatically over the last 40 years and it ain’t finished yet. America is now an oligarchy and it’s not exactly a secret.
ol·i·gar·chy
ˈäləˌɡärkē/
noun
a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution.
“the ruling oligarchy of military men around the president”
a country governed by an oligarchy.
“the English aristocratic oligarchy of the 19th century”
government by oligarchy.
Study: US is an oligarchy, not a democracy
“The US is dominated by a rich and powerful elite.
So concludes a recent study by Princeton University Prof Martin Gilens and Northwestern University Prof Benjamin I Page.
This is not news, you say.
Perhaps, but the two professors have conducted exhaustive research to try to present data-driven support for this conclusion. Here’s how they explain it:
Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organised groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.
In English: the wealthy few move policy, while the average American has little power.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746
The election is pure theater and anyone who thinks it matters is ideologically intoxicated, a retard or in deep denial or all of the above. It will not matter to the common person other than a three day dopamine hit/tribal win. If anything it’s about competing elites and which one gets the next Gov approved franchise/racket to further milk the sheeple. Case in point, Obamacare. For the ever expanding have nots, it’s called being in a Pickle – a predicament. Short of an armed revolution on a never seen before scale the only choice one has is to not play their consumer debt slave game. If you feel like you just can’t possibly survive without an ever growing list of heavily marketed consumer status seeking goodies, then you have conceded victory to them. They own you for life.
Key architect of Obamacare admitted that it was passed by exploiting political ignorance
” If voters had known that the law would work by forcing young and healthy people to provide massive new subsidies for the old and sick, he doubts that it could have gotten through Congress:”
“This is far from the only deception that played a major role in the passage of Obamacare. Perhaps even more important was President Obama’s now-notorious lie to the effect that “if you like your health care plan, you can keep it.””
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/11/11/key-architect-of-obamacare-admitted-that-it-was-passed-by-exploiting-political-ignorance/?utm_term=.a0eba5fed5ea
peakyeast on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 4:05 pm
Hillary contrary to Trump has admitted to be incompetent and a liability to the state – unless of course she used those excuses just to avoid prosecution. Obviously she thinks that if you are ignorant and stupid enough then you are free from the upholding the law and face its consequences.
ghung on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 4:11 pm
Which is worse? An “incompetent” who admits her mistakes, or a lunatic who blames others and belittles everyone he disagrees with?
joe on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 4:49 pm
Every US presidential candidate should have to work for a year in a fast food chain and live on welfare, and have not avoided taxes for a single day they spend during that time. Nobody should be allowed to make a foreign policy decision unless they’ve spend time in a ward of a military hospital. Americas founding fathers wanted to be the opposite of Britain, instead the country they began has eclipsed it.
Elmer on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 4:52 pm
Ap, I agree that the US functions more like an oligarchy instead of a rep democracy. But what exactly should we be doing about this monumental problem?? And it does get worse year by year. I’ll bet you there’s many more politicians in the Democratic Party who see this as a problem than there are in the Republican Party. As much as I personally rather would have seen Sanders as the nominee, he’s not the one. He wouldn’t have made it very far in the Republican Party so I think that says something significant about the differences between the parties. I don’t want crazies like Trump in government for 4-8 years because when the SHTF they will not be “nice” unless you are rich and powerful. So what can we do to make the situation better? Letting a Nutcase take over seems counterproductive to me.
ghung on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 5:10 pm
I’m pretty much resigned to maintaining the status quo for now, because when change starts to accelerate, it won’t be pretty, and it won’t be the kind of change any sane person would want. At least, not for a long time. This isn’t the time to throw a Trumpesque monkey wrench into the works. Nothing can fix what ails society except the big reset. Not sure that can be called a “fix”.
Sucks, I know. We can’t de-leverage this much debt, we can’t have a contraction-by-design, we can’t undeplete resources, we can’t redistribute imaginary wealth-that-isn’t-wealth, and we can’t fix stupid with stupid.
peakyeast on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 5:30 pm
Good question Ghung. The only thing I really believe is that neither are the best “man” for the job which means the “viable president” selection process is faulty.
Anonymous on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 5:32 pm
LoL, @ the exceptionalist (again). To illustrate the larger issue, any inept food is ‘qualified’ to ‘run’, and by ‘run’ we mean be a spokesman for empire. Any ignorant cracker, iE Bush the Dumber, or even our the resident exceptionalist, davy could function equally well with minimal training and coaching in that role.
Nor does it matter if you ‘agree’ its an oligarchy, or split hairs over trivial distinctions like ‘representative republic’. The only ones being being ‘represented’, are the bankers, the pentagon, the lobby, the oil corporations, agri-biz and so on. THEY are extremely well ‘represented’, everyone else, not so much(actually not at all).
As for what to ‘do’ about it, well someone in thread already mentioned it.
“It won’t get better until we dust off the guillotines.”
I would only add, make sure they are….’exceptionally’ sharp. They would see a lot of use before they were done with.
Anonymous on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 5:32 pm
fool, sorry, gah…ghetto edits…
Davy on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 5:47 pm
Maybe, but if a Trumpseque monkey wrench means détente with Russia I am all for that. The reality is Trump will likely not get much done. Hillary will do more by maintaining the status quo which is on autopilot anyway.
Apneaman on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 7:13 pm
Elmer, it’s not just the US. They tend to stand out because they are the center of the universe/empire and are a LOUD people, generally speaking. Which, except for my accent (proper english) and my unwavering logic, is why I fit right in when I lived in the great state of Georgia. The same unraveling is taking place in most countries at varying speeds. America has become the theater of the absurd. The future is unknowable, but take the last 40 years and compare it to the historical record of failed nations, throw in AGW and all the other overshoot predicaments and take the whole deal to its logical conclusion. I get your anxiety and frustration because I once had that, but learned to let go. I’m just a commoner being dragged along for the ride by the forces of history, like billions before me throughout the ages. We have no real power and are facing the biggest system ever created. So fuck it, I say. I ain’t playing anymore – I’m standing over here on the sidelines taking notes and laughing my ass off at the futility of it all. My only hope I have left is that I hope the shit don’t hit until my 70 year old Mom is gone naturally. I know me and everyone I love will be in for some major changes and suffering coming up. Hope is the #1 weapon of TPTB because as long as enough sheeple have it they won’t get off the couch. They have done a masterful job using hope to control. They have corrupted and turned most big NGO’s into gatekeeper hope dealers. Environment, social justice, tax reformers, etc, they control all of them. Of course the POTUS, whomever it is, is just a big hopey changy talking monkey spewing out one ridiculous promise after another and the sheeple keep eating it up. It’s like a drug – highly addictive. I can’t wait to watch them all come down cold turkey.
JuanP on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 7:50 pm
I didn’t watch the debate. I will not vote because I am not an American. Psychopathic murdering bitch or narcissistic foolish clown? I would choose the clown because I think that Hillary is more dangerous to the world, but I am very happy that I am not an American and I don’t have to pay much attention to this matter. If it were not so tragic it would be really funny, though.
Back to helping all these frigging migrants prepare for the storm. I just talked to a French couple at the garden who don’t even own one flashlight, so I am on my way to their place to loan them one from my collection. I already gave my EDC flashlight to a Turkish lady earlier today so I had to come home to get another because I was walking. How can someone not have a flashlight?
People are beginning to panic here. It’s the same thing with every storm. Water, flashlights, etc. are soldout everywhere. These potential storms are big business. Costco and Home Depot look like Walmart on a Black Friday!
ghung on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 8:41 pm
RNC Blog Says Pence Wins Debate Before Debate Starts
“A blog post from the Republican National Committee published before the vice presidential debate declared Mike Pence the winner of the debate….”
makati1 on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 8:48 pm
JuanP, having family on the east coast of Florida, I am watching the storm closely. They are long time Floridians so they are mostly prepared. CMU house with a heavy tile roof about 1/4 mile from the beach, that has been there for 60+ years.
I bought them a radio that can be powered by wall plug, battery, crank or solar and has all the weather bands, AM/FM etc., for Christmas last year, and added to their supplies stockpile when I visited this summer. Not much more I can do. Maybe the storm will turn east and head away from the coast. We shall see.
So far this year, we have been lucky here in the Ps. All of the typhoons have gone north towards Japan and missed the Ps islands. I hope they continue to do so. Again, we shall see. ^_^
JuanP on Tue, 4th Oct 2016 10:51 pm
Mak, It looks like it might land in the Carolinas, but you never know. I am expecting tropical storm conditions in Miami within 36 hours and don’t expect to have to evacuate. I will make that decision tomorrow. I am as ready as I can be and expect to spend the coming days helping others to prepare for the storm and recover from the damage. I am a bit worried about my bees and plants, but there is nothing I can do about them other than pruning the plants and anchoring the hives, which I have already done. I delayed planting most of my fall crops and I have all my seedlings indoors. Let’s hope it stays offshore and we are all spared. We have been lucky since Andrew here and we are way overdue from a statistical point of view.