newswars--2020-05-13--Can Monopoly Money Save the Stock Market? Or Will It Buy Stagnation?

After eleven years of nearly uninterrupted advancement , the record-long , QE-spawned bull market is on life support , facing the effects of pandemic lockdown and a massively leveraged global financial system .
The sheer scale of the equities super-rally ( larger than the dotcom and housing bubbles combined ) is dwarfed by the magnitude of the monetary policy experimentation that was its foundation ( Figure 1 ) .
Rather than spurring real economic gains , the main outcome of the Federal Reserve ’ s unorthodox Quantitative Easing ( QE ) program has been to support , and further extend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and generate exuberance in interest rate–sensitive risk assets like the stock market and real estate , fueling the largest wealth gap since the 1920s .
It does this by suppressing the price of risk .
Artificially low interest rates encourage unproductive debt accumulation and maintenance , and funnel money out of safe assets ( through induced zero or negative yields ) and into higher-risk assets with present value income streams that look a lot rosier in a depressed cost of capital environment .
Known as the portfolio rebalancing channel of QE , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ malinvestment , and excessive risk taking .
Not surprisingly , the extra easy money regime of the last twelve years has lured worldwide debt to a historic high of 322 percent of GDP , 40 percentage points higher than in 2007 according to the IIF April 2020 Global Debt Monitor .
“ The size , speed , and breadth of the latest debt wave should concern us all , ” said World Bank Group president David Mappass .
Never have we seen this scale , involving both public and private debt and most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bank in Global Waves of Debt .
Meanwhile , despite tepid real GDP growth and stagnant corporate profits , the S & P 500 climbed 360 percent between February 2009 and February 2020 , powered by record-high debt-financed share buybacks .
However , central bank yield repression can generate debt-propelled asset exuberance only as long as there is capacity for more debt .
The central bank ’ s bubble rebloat campaign will face new stumbling blocks this round as it confronts an overextended private sector .
Furthermore , the counterweights to economic growth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be too large for the stock market to overlook .
The US traded the dotcom bubble for a housing bubble and substituted the housing bubble with a share buyback Super Bubble .
Each bubble required the private sector to load up on debt .
US household debt had grown to 100 percent of GDP when the 2008 bubble burst , and , before this year ’ s first-quarter ( Q1 ) contraction , US household debt is still 76 percent of GDP ( Figure 2 ) .
In the midst of the 2001 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fight this , the Fed needs more than a snapback ; it needs soaring household spending to offset moribund business investment .
And to do that , as Paul McCulley of PIMCO put it , Alan Greenspan needs to create a housing bubble to replace the NASDAQ bubble.
” Following Krugman ’ s kick-the-can-down-the-road recommendation , to help inflate the housing bubble replacement , the debt hot potato was passed to businesses .
Nonfinancial corporate debt grew nearly 70 percent over the last decade and total nonfinancial business debt stands at 84 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , a record high ( Figure 2 ) .
Both the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) and Bureau of Industry and Security ( BIS ) estimate that about half of US corporate debt is now speculative grade ( Figure 3 ) .
Also precedent-setting is the percentage of corporate debt with near-junk status ; for the first time , BBB-rated debt represents the largest portion of investment grade debt .
Figure 3 : Debt Rating Distributions in the US , GB , and EU , 2000–2017 Contributing to the quality deterioration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 4 trillion in new corporate debt amassed over the last decade was used for financial risk taking , to fund shareholder payouts in the form of share buybacks and dividends .
The S & P 500 spent more than $ 5.4 trillion on stock buybacks between 2009 and 2019 , 50 percent more than all three QE programs combined ( Figure 4 ) .
S & P 500 dividends also broke records , totaling another $ 3.4 trillion over the same period ( Figure 5 ) .
“ Payouts—dividends and share buybacks—at US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ levels in recent quarters , ” and are “ often funded by debt , ” warned the IMF in its October 2019 Global Corporate Stability Report .
This is “ in contrast with subdued capital expenditures , ” the report continues .
Citing a 2018 Yardini study , journalist Larry Light cautions , “ More than half [ 56 percent ] of all stock buybacks are now financed by debt.
” QE-abetted buybacks helped mask the weakness in GDP growth , corporate profits , consumer spending , capital expenditures , and productivity .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on earnings , and escalating antibuyback sentiment may prevent their swift return .
A two-decade study in the Financial Analysts Journal covering forty-three nations concluded that buybacks are a major bull market catalyst , more important than economic growth .
The report finds that “ net buybacks explain 80 percent of the dispersion in stock market returns since 1997.
” In fact , corporations have represented the major source of demand for equities since the Great Recession .
John Authers reports : Similarly , in a February 2019 New York Times article “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Investors , ” Matt Phillips writes , “ The surge in buybacks reflects a fundamental shift in how the market is operating , cementing the position of corporations as the single largest source of demand for American stocks ” ( Figure 6 ) . In addition to the price inflation effects of colossal corporate demand , share buybacks are a powerful bull market propellant , because they reduce the denominator in the earnings per share ( EPS ) calculation , thereby boosting EPS numbers and concealing limp real income growth .
Although overall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Figure 7 ) , growing only 1.6 percent ( with pretax profits actually declining 4.1 percent ) , S & P 500 earnings per share grew 68 percent during the same 2012–19 period .
However , sentiment in Washington is viciously turning against buybacks , with some politicians calling them a form of share price and management compensation manipulation .
Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) commissioner Robert Jackson in a June 2018 speech commented on the disturbing results of an SEC study covering 385 buybacks over fifteen months : Senators @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on buybacks .
Senator Rubio wants to change the preferential tax treatment of buybacks .
Senator Tammy Baldwin wants to ban them altogether .
Former Treasury secretary Larry Summers has spoken out against them , and COVID bailout covenants include explicit restrictions on future buybacks .
Aiding the hostility are three decades of stagnant wages for middle- and low-income Americans as the costs of housing , tuition , childcare , and healthcare have swelled .
Lance Roberts reveals , “ Since 2007 , the ONLY group that has seen an increase in net @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the population , which is also the group that owns 84 percent of the stock market.
” The Wall Street Journal explains that The scale of the wealth gap has helped propel the Political Stress Index to its highest level since the Civil War ( Figure 8 ) .
Although corporate demand for shares has been a decisive contributor to the last two stock market bubbles , the accelerating populist resentment , high levels of speculative debt , and earnings hardships ahead will reduce its presence this cycle , withdrawing a critical component @ @ @ @ @ @ @ households and businesses bursting with debt , the Fed can ’ t rely on suppressed rates to induce extra debt-fueled consumption , unproductive private investment , or share buybacks .
There isn ’ t enough debt capacity left in the private sector to drive the inflation of the next bubble ( Figure 2 ) .
“ The only major debt category left that is big enough to play a role in the economy is government debt , ” writes economist Klajdi Bregu in “ The Fed is Running Out of Bubbles to Create.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Heights of Government Debt “ At this rate the Fed will own two-thirds of the treasury market in a year , ” cautions Jim Bianco in “ The Fed ’ s Cure Risks Being Worse Than the Disease ” —but that won ’ t reflate the stock market .
In Japan , government debt expansion for stock market kindling was unsuccessful .
The Nikkei has never regained its 1989 high even though Japan ’ s government debt has ballooned from 64 percent to 237 percent of GDP ( the highest in the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Bank of Japan ( BOJ ) now owns 50 percent of Japan ’ s bond market ( Figure 9 ) .
Even with seven years of QE that included direct stock market purchases—granting the BOJ the dubious honor of also being the largest owner of Japanese stocks—the Nikkei stubbornly remained 40 percent below its 1989 high at the end of last year .
The intervention swelled the BOJ balance sheet by nearly 300 percent between 2012 and 2019 ; it is now the size of the entire Japanese economy ( Figure 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the nine most terrifying words in the English language are : I ’ m from the government , and I ’ m here to help.
” The government can issue debt to hand out money , but they can ’ t force people to spend it in ways that help the economy .
And the impulse to defer spending , reduce debt , and save money is acute in high-uncertainty , high-pain environments like the current one .
Personal consumption expenditures as a percentage of GDP were already flat during the last decade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) as consumers began to delever to still-high current levels ( Figure 11 ) .
Temporary government handouts to dampen the effects of the lockdown economy aren ’ t likely to reverse this trend .
And despite significant increases in business debt , fixed private investment as a share of the money supply ( printed for its very encouragement ) remains at 2009 crisis lows .
This is also reflected in capital expenditures as a percentage of GDP , which never recovered their pre–Great Recession or long-run levels ( Figures 12 and 13 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Expenditures as a Percentage of GDP , All Sectors , 1947–2019 Lobbing the Debt Timebomb at the Government Has Steep Costs High government debt kneecaps economic growth .
Not only are government-debt-for-handouts schemes ineffective at hotwiring sustainable growth , but it turns out that elevated public debt cannibalizes GDP growth .
A 2010 study by Reinhart and Rogoff found that when government debt exceeds 90 percent of GDP , “ growth rates are roughly cut in half.
” But a World Bank investigation found the destructive debt threshold to be lower : every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 77 percent of GDP costs 0.0174 percentage points in real growth .
The US crossed the 77 percent precipice in 2009 , and average annual real GDP growth since then has been nearly 45 percent lower than in the previous sixty years , a period that encompassed eleven recessions ( Figure 14 ) .
In trading terminology , we would consider this a poor upside-downside capture ratio .
By trying to limit the economy ’ s downside volatility , the Fed has constrained the upside , and , as 2020 will show , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worse. Japan traversed the fateful 77 percent Rubicon in the early 1990s .
In the decades since , real GDP growth has averaged about 80 percent lower .
“ Japan ’ s ‘ lost decade ’ eventually extended to almost three decades of sub-par growth , ” writes Dr. Mihai Macovei in Stimulus Brings Stagnation ( Figure 15 ) .
US government debt ( excluding unfunded social security and Medicare liabilities ) is now approaching 130 percent of GDP , exceeding the record of 118 percent set during World War II .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on economic growth but also on share buybacks , which can cheerlead stock market performance only as long as they can be funded ( with earnings and/or debt ) .
But as already stagnant corporate earnings are anchored by a debt-dragging economy , the most important demand source for stocks this century will remain in hibernation .
A debt-promoting easy monetary policy adds another burden on economic growth and productivity : zombie proliferation .
A 2018 study in the BIS Quarterly Review by Banerjee and Hofmann found that “ lower nominal interest rates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ older public companies with earnings too low to meet interest payments ] .
” These “ living dead ” firms that should pursue restructuring or bankruptcy are instead kept alive by discounted interest rates and evergreen lending .
As with government spending , zombie firms crowd out productive investment and employment .
Using a narrower definition of zombie that additionally factors in low expectations for future profitability , Banerjee and Hofmann determine that “ a one percentage point increase in the narrow zombie share in a sector lowers the capital expenditure of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Prior to the COVID crash , an estimated 16 percent of US public companies were zombies .
That number will grow as the Fed nationalizes large expanses of corporate debt markets and government policies prop up marginal firms and add restrictions ( e.g.
, government ownership , workforce freezes , and payout controls ) that will make them even less competitive going forward ( Figure 16 ) .
Average US productivity over the last decade has already been 58 percent lower than the previous six decades ; at the end of 2019 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ low of just 1.2 percent .
Figure 16 : Share of “ Zombie Firms , ” Euro Area ( EA ) , GB , and US , 2000–2017 A portentous example of the path to zombiehood and the incentive perversion generated by government subsidies and ownership is offered by the railroads in the late nineteenth century .
Government aid for the Union Pacific ( UP ) and Central Pacific ( CP ) railroads encouraged track-laying speed over railroad efficiency .
Grant payments were higher for construction on hilly or mountainous terrain .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , inefficient routes built with inferior materials , ultimately culminating in a federal price tag of 44,000,000 acres and $ 61,000,000 ( astronomical sums in the 1860s–70s ) .
Despite all of this federal assistance , shortly after the golden spike was driven on May 10 , 1869 at Promontory Summit , Utah , the UP and CP were nearly bankrupt and required further assistance to stay afloat….they ultimately went bankrupt in 1893 , ” explains Dane Stuhlsatz .
Tenured insolvent businesses sustained by repressed rates and government underwriting have been blamed as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s economic stagnation and lost decades .
An estimated “ two-thirds of the nation ’ s companies don ’ t make enough profit to pay taxes , ” contributing to the downward spiral in productivity and GDP growth .
Japan ’ s GDP per hour worked has nosedived nearly 70 percent , from an average 4.2 percent pre–bubble bursting , to just 1.4 percent since 1991 ( Figure 17 ) .
An accelerating zombie share will constrain US productivity growth when it is needed most .
Sleepwalker firms underperform in the broader market @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus through US companies , they will add another ball and chain to a stock market already suffering from demand destruction The Last Stand : The World ’ s Biggest Debtor Tries to Guarantee Everyone Else ’ s Debt The Fed has relied on the temporary camouflage provided by manipulated risk asset exuberance and related wealth effects ( benefiting a high income–earning minority ) to cover up the economy ’ s post-QE failure to thrive .
Now , with more than a decade of ultralow rates , the entire world is stuffed with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the QE formula is facing its limits .
The program ’ s last stand is to double down , hoping that artificial demand from QE infinity will keep rates low enough to limit private sector delevering and brace the stock market while the debt timebomb is passed to the government and the world ’ s biggest debtor tries to prop up everyone else ’ s debt .
However , high government debt , bankrolled with QE Monopoly money , won ’ t save the stock market Super Bubble .
It will only deepen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feedback loop that requires ever more intervention , debt , and printing to monetize it .
Even the Fed acknowledges the “ apparent ineffectiveness of credit easing ( CE ) [ a.k.a .
QE ] on aggregate output and employment ” in “ Evaluating Unconventional Monetary Policies—Why Aren ’ t They More Effective ?
, ” by Yi Wen .
Rather than more socialization of the economy , we need a return to free markets : a shift away from centrally planned rate suppression that blows up financial bubbles ; an embargo on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the productive redeployment of labor and resources ; a contraction in government spending to reduce crowding out of valuable private sector employment and investment ; and a rejection of distortive intervention in the debt markets .
Although these changes would initially be painful , they would lead to regeneration and a true boom .
The current path is toward a slow stagnation death as the central bank eats the economy .
The Nikkei rose 360 percent between 1982–1989 and then fell 73 percent over twenty-three years .
Even with the BOJ buying 5 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Nikkei is at the same level it was in 1996 , 40 percent below its peak , illustrating QE ’ s diminishing “ returns.
” The US has a 2019 bubble to rival Japan ’ s 1989 bubble , and it ’ s following the same Monopoly money prescription to try to save it but expecting a different outcome .
The Fed is setting the economy and the stock market up for a lost “ decade .
”

After eleven years of nearly uninterrupted advancement, the record-long, QE-spawned bull market is on life support, facing the effects of pandemic lockdown and a massively leveraged global financial system.
The sheer scale of the equities super-rally (larger than the dotcom and housing bubbles combined) is dwarfed by the magnitude of the monetary policy experimentation that was its foundation (Figure 1).
Figure 1: S&P 500 and Fed Balance Sheet, January 1995–April 2020
Rather than spurring real economic gains, the main outcome of the Federal Reserve’s unorthodox Quantitative Easing (QE) program has been to support, and further extend, the bloated and fragile debt grid, and generate exuberance in interest rate–sensitive risk assets like the stock market and real estate, fueling the largest wealth gap since the 1920s. It does this by suppressing the price of risk. Artificially low interest rates encourage unproductive debt accumulation and maintenance, and funnel money out of safe assets (through induced zero or negative yields) and into higher-risk assets with present value income streams that look a lot rosier in a depressed cost of capital environment. Known as the portfolio rebalancing channel of QE, this phenomenon drives asset value distension, malinvestment, and excessive risk taking.
Not surprisingly, the extra easy money regime of the last twelve years has lured worldwide debt to a historic high of 322 percent of GDP, 40 percentage points higher than in 2007 according to the IIF April 2020 Global Debt Monitor. “The size, speed, and breadth of the latest debt wave should concern us all,” said World Bank Group president David Mappass. Never have we seen this scale, involving both public and private debt and most of the world, warns the World Bank in Global Waves of Debt. Meanwhile, despite tepid real GDP growth and stagnant corporate profits, the S&P 500 climbed 360 percent between February 2009 and February 2020, powered by record-high debt-financed share buybacks.
However, central bank yield repression can generate debt-propelled asset exuberance only as long as there is capacity for more debt. The central bank’s bubble rebloat campaign will face new stumbling blocks this round as it confronts an overextended private sector. Furthermore, the counterweights to economic growth (partially QE grown) may finally be too large for the stock market to overlook.
Stumbling Blocks to Bubble Rebloat
Private Sector Debt Is Maxed Out.
The US traded the dotcom bubble for a housing bubble and substituted the housing bubble with a share buyback Super Bubble. Each bubble required the private sector to load up on debt. US household debt had grown to 100 percent of GDP when the 2008 bubble burst, and, before this year’s first-quarter (Q1) contraction, US household debt is still 76 percent of GDP (Figure 2). In the midst of the 2001 recession, Paul Krugman urged “To fight this, the Fed needs more than a snapback; it needs soaring household spending to offset moribund business investment. And to do that, as Paul McCulley of PIMCO put it, Alan Greenspan needs to create a housing bubble to replace the NASDAQ bubble.”
Following Krugman’s kick-the-can-down-the-road recommendation, to help inflate the housing bubble replacement, the debt hot potato was passed to businesses. Nonfinancial corporate debt grew nearly 70 percent over the last decade and total nonfinancial business debt stands at 84 percent of US GDP (before the contraction), a record high (Figure 2). Both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) estimate that about half of US corporate debt is now speculative grade (Figure 3). Also precedent-setting is the percentage of corporate debt with near-junk status; for the first time, BBB-rated debt represents the largest portion of investment grade debt.
Figure 2: US Debt Bubble, 1950–2019
Figure 3: Debt Rating Distributions in the US, GB, and EU, 2000–2017
Contributing to the quality deterioration, a sizeable portion of the $4 trillion in new corporate debt amassed over the last decade was used for financial risk taking, to fund shareholder payouts in the form of share buybacks and dividends. The S&P 500 spent more than $5.4 trillion on stock buybacks between 2009 and 2019, 50 percent more than all three QE programs combined (Figure 4). S&P 500 dividends also broke records, totaling another $3.4 trillion over the same period (Figure 5). “Payouts—dividends and share buybacks—at US large firms have grown to record high levels in recent quarters,” and are “often funded by debt,” warned the IMF in its October 2019 Global Corporate Stability Report. This is “in contrast with subdued capital expenditures,” the report continues. Citing a 2018 Yardini study, journalist Larry Light cautions, “More than half [56 percent] of all stock buybacks are now financed by debt.”
Figure 4: S&P 500 Stock Buybacks, 1999–2019
Figure 5: S&P 500 Dividends, 1999–Q1 2020
Share Buyback Helium Is Running Low
QE-abetted buybacks helped mask the weakness in GDP growth, corporate profits, consumer spending, capital expenditures, and productivity. But record-high debt levels, pandemic pressure on earnings, and escalating antibuyback sentiment may prevent their swift return. A two-decade study in the Financial Analysts Journal covering forty-three nations concluded that buybacks are a major bull market catalyst, more important than economic growth. The report finds that “net buybacks explain 80 percent of the dispersion in stock market returns since 1997.” In fact, corporations have represented the major source of demand for equities since the Great Recession. John Authers reports:
For much of the last decade, companies buying their own shares have accounted for all net purchases. The total amount of stock bought back by companies since the 2008 crisis even exceeds the Federal Reserve’s spending on buying bonds over the same period as part of quantitative easing. Both pushed up asset prices.
Similarly, in a February 2019 New York Times article “This Stock Market Rally Has Everything But Investors,” Matt Phillips writes, “The surge in buybacks reflects a fundamental shift in how the market is operating, cementing the position of corporations as the single largest source of demand for American stocks” (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Cumulative Net Purchases of US Corporate Equities, 2009–2019
In addition to the price inflation effects of colossal corporate demand, share buybacks are a powerful bull market propellant, because they reduce the denominator in the earnings per share (EPS) calculation, thereby boosting EPS numbers and concealing limp real income growth. Although overall corporate profits have been stagnant since 2012 (Figure 7), growing only 1.6 percent (with pretax profits actually declining 4.1 percent), S&P 500 earnings per share grew 68 percent during the same 2012–19 period.
Figure 7: Corporate Profits Pre- and Post-Tax, 1980–2019
However, sentiment in Washington is viciously turning against buybacks, with some politicians calling them a form of share price and management compensation manipulation. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner Robert Jackson in a June 2018 speech commented on the disturbing results of an SEC study covering 385 buybacks over fifteen months:
In half of the buybacks we studied, at least one executive sold shares in the month following the buyback announcement….So, right after the company tells the market that the stock is cheap, executives overwhelmingly decide to sell.
Senators Schumer and Sanders are agitating for limitations on buybacks. Senator Rubio wants to change the preferential tax treatment of buybacks. Senator Tammy Baldwin wants to ban them altogether. Former Treasury secretary Larry Summers has spoken out against them, and COVID bailout covenants include explicit restrictions on future buybacks.
Aiding the hostility are three decades of stagnant wages for middle- and low-income Americans as the costs of housing, tuition, childcare, and healthcare have swelled. Lance Roberts reveals, “Since 2007, the ONLY group that has seen an increase in net worth is the top 10 percent of the population, which is also the group that owns 84 percent of the stock market.” The Wall Street Journal explains that
the median net worth in the middle 20 percent of income rose 4 percent in inflation-adjusted terms to $81,900 between 1989 and 2016….For households in the top 20 percent, median net worth more than doubled to $811,860. And for the top 1 percent, the increase was 178 percent to $11,206,000.
The scale of the wealth gap has helped propel the Political Stress Index to its highest level since the Civil War (Figure 8). Although corporate demand for shares has been a decisive contributor to the last two stock market bubbles, the accelerating populist resentment, high levels of speculative debt, and earnings hardships ahead will reduce its presence this cycle, withdrawing a critical component of bull market jet fuel.
Figure 8: The Political Stress & Well-Being Indices, 1780–2000
With households and businesses bursting with debt, the Fed can’t rely on suppressed rates to induce extra debt-fueled consumption, unproductive private investment, or share buybacks. There isn’t enough debt capacity left in the private sector to drive the inflation of the next bubble (Figure 2). “The only major debt category left that is big enough to play a role in the economy is government debt,” writes economist Klajdi Bregu in “The Fed is Running Out of Bubbles to Create.”
The Fed Is Monetizing New Heights of Government Debt
“At this rate the Fed will own two-thirds of the treasury market in a year,” cautions Jim Bianco in “The Fed’s Cure Risks Being Worse Than the Disease”—but that won’t reflate the stock market. In Japan, government debt expansion for stock market kindling was unsuccessful. The Nikkei has never regained its 1989 high even though Japan’s government debt has ballooned from 64 percent to 237 percent of GDP (the highest in the world) over the last three decades. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) now owns 50 percent of Japan’s bond market (Figure 9).
Figure 9: Nikkei vs. Japanese General Government Debt, 1950–2019
Even with seven years of QE that included direct stock market purchases—granting the BOJ the dubious honor of also being the largest owner of Japanese stocks—the Nikkei stubbornly remained 40 percent below its 1989 high at the end of last year. The intervention swelled the BOJ balance sheet by nearly 300 percent between 2012 and 2019; it is now the size of the entire Japanese economy (Figure 10).
Figure 10: Nikkei vs. Bank of Japan Balance Sheet, 1950–2019
Ronald Reagan said that “the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” The government can issue debt to hand out money, but they can’t force people to spend it in ways that help the economy. And the impulse to defer spending, reduce debt, and save money is acute in high-uncertainty, high-pain environments like the current one. Personal consumption expenditures as a percentage of GDP were already flat during the last decade (after having climbed for thirty years) as consumers began to delever to still-high current levels (Figure 11). Temporary government handouts to dampen the effects of the lockdown economy aren’t likely to reverse this trend.
Figure 11: Personal Consumption Expenditures as Percentage of GDP, 1959–2019
And despite significant increases in business debt, fixed private investment as a share of the money supply (printed for its very encouragement) remains at 2009 crisis lows. This is also reflected in capital expenditures as a percentage of GDP, which never recovered their pre–Great Recession or long-run levels (Figures 12 and 13).
Figure 12: Fixed Private Investment as a Share of M2, 1981–2019
Figure 13: Total Capital Expenditures as a Percentage of GDP, All Sectors, 1947–2019
Lobbing the Debt Timebomb at the Government Has Steep Costs
High government debt kneecaps economic growth. Not only are government-debt-for-handouts schemes ineffective at hotwiring sustainable growth, but it turns out that elevated public debt cannibalizes GDP growth. A 2010 study by Reinhart and Rogoff found that when government debt exceeds 90 percent of GDP, “growth rates are roughly cut in half.” But a World Bank investigation found the destructive debt threshold to be lower: every percentage point of public debt greater than 77 percent of GDP costs 0.0174 percentage points in real growth. The US crossed the 77 percent precipice in 2009, and average annual real GDP growth since then has been nearly 45 percent lower than in the previous sixty years, a period that encompassed eleven recessions (Figure 14). In trading terminology, we would consider this a poor upside-downside capture ratio. By trying to limit the economy’s downside volatility, the Fed has constrained the upside, and, as 2020 will show, the policy has made the downside far worse.
Figure 14: Real GDP Growth vs. Government Debt, Q1 1948–Q1 2020
Japan traversed the fateful 77 percent Rubicon in the early 1990s. In the decades since, real GDP growth has averaged about 80 percent lower. “Japan’s ‘lost decade’ eventually extended to almost three decades of sub-par growth,” writes Dr. Mihai Macovei in Stimulus Brings Stagnation (Figure 15).
Figure 15: Japanese Annual GDP Growth vs. Government Debt, 1970–2018
US government debt (excluding unfunded social security and Medicare liabilities) is now approaching 130 percent of GDP, exceeding the record of 118 percent set during World War II. This astronomical debt load will not only weigh on economic growth but also on share buybacks, which can cheerlead stock market performance only as long as they can be funded (with earnings and/or debt). But as already stagnant corporate earnings are anchored by a debt-dragging economy, the most important demand source for stocks this century will remain in hibernation.
The Fed Is Breeding Zombies
A debt-promoting easy monetary policy adds another burden on economic growth and productivity: zombie proliferation. A 2018 study in the BIS Quarterly Review by Banerjee and Hofmann found that “lower nominal interest rates predict an increase in the zombie share [older public companies with earnings too low to meet interest payments].” These “living dead” firms that should pursue restructuring or bankruptcy are instead kept alive by discounted interest rates and evergreen lending. As with government spending, zombie firms crowd out productive investment and employment. Using a narrower definition of zombie that additionally factors in low expectations for future profitability, Banerjee and Hofmann determine that “a one percentage point increase in the narrow zombie share in a sector lowers the capital expenditure of non-zombie firms by around one percentage point.”
Prior to the COVID crash, an estimated 16 percent of US public companies were zombies. That number will grow as the Fed nationalizes large expanses of corporate debt markets and government policies prop up marginal firms and add restrictions (e.g., government ownership, workforce freezes, and payout controls) that will make them even less competitive going forward (Figure 16). Average US productivity over the last decade has already been 58 percent lower than the previous six decades; at the end of 2019, it had fallen to a Japan-like low of just 1.2 percent.
Figure 16: Share of “Zombie Firms,” Euro Area (EA), GB, and US, 2000–2017
A portentous example of the path to zombiehood and the incentive perversion generated by government subsidies and ownership is offered by the railroads in the late nineteenth century. Government aid for the Union Pacific (UP) and Central Pacific (CP) railroads encouraged track-laying speed over railroad efficiency. Grant payments were higher for construction on hilly or mountainous terrain. “This incentive for speed resulted in winding, inefficient routes built with inferior materials, ultimately culminating in a federal price tag of 44,000,000 acres and $61,000,000 (astronomical sums in the 1860s–70s). Despite all of this federal assistance, shortly after the golden spike was driven on May 10, 1869 at Promontory Summit, Utah, the UP and CP were nearly bankrupt and required further assistance to stay afloat….they ultimately went bankrupt in 1893,” explains Dane Stuhlsatz.
Tenured insolvent businesses sustained by repressed rates and government underwriting have been blamed as one of the causes of Japan’s economic stagnation and lost decades. An estimated “two-thirds of the nation’s companies don’t make enough profit to pay taxes,” contributing to the downward spiral in productivity and GDP growth. Japan’s GDP per hour worked has nosedived nearly 70 percent, from an average 4.2 percent pre–bubble bursting, to just 1.4 percent since 1991 (Figure 17).
Figure 17: Japan Productivity Growth, 1971–2018
An accelerating zombie share will constrain US productivity growth when it is needed most. Sleepwalker firms underperform in the broader market, and as they propagate like a virus through US companies, they will add another ball and chain to a stock market already suffering from demand destruction
The Last Stand: The World’s Biggest Debtor Tries to Guarantee Everyone Else’s Debt
The Fed has relied on the temporary camouflage provided by manipulated risk asset exuberance and related wealth effects (benefiting a high income–earning minority) to cover up the economy’s post-QE failure to thrive. Now, with more than a decade of ultralow rates, the entire world is stuffed with debt and the leverage encouragement portion of the QE formula is facing its limits.
The program’s last stand is to double down, hoping that artificial demand from QE infinity will keep rates low enough to limit private sector delevering and brace the stock market while the debt timebomb is passed to the government and the world’s biggest debtor tries to prop up everyone else’s debt. However, high government debt, bankrolled with QE Monopoly money, won’t save the stock market Super Bubble. It will only deepen the economic stagnation and perpetuate the negative feedback loop that requires ever more intervention, debt, and printing to monetize it.
Even the Fed acknowledges the “apparent ineffectiveness of credit easing (CE) [a.k.a. QE] on aggregate output and employment” in “Evaluating Unconventional Monetary Policies—Why Aren’t They More Effective?,” by Yi Wen.
Rather than more socialization of the economy, we need a return to free markets: a shift away from centrally planned rate suppression that blows up financial bubbles; an embargo on bailouts that propagate moral hazard and prevent the productive redeployment of labor and resources; a contraction in government spending to reduce crowding out of valuable private sector employment and investment; and a rejection of distortive intervention in the debt markets. Although these changes would initially be painful, they would lead to regeneration and a true boom. The current path is toward a slow stagnation death as the central bank eats the economy.
The Nikkei rose 360 percent between 1982–1989 and then fell 73 percent over twenty-three years. Even with the BOJ buying 5 percent of the Japanese stock market, the Nikkei is at the same level it was in 1996, 40 percent below its peak, illustrating QE’s diminishing “returns.” The US has a 2019 bubble to rival Japan’s 1989 bubble, and it’s following the same Monopoly money prescription to try to save it but expecting a different outcome. The Fed is setting the economy and the stock market up for a lost “decade.”


newswars--2020-05-14--Poll: More Than Two Thirds Of Americans Blame China For COVID-19

A poll conducted by YouGov has found that more than two-thirds of Americans blame China for the global coronavirus pandemic .
The survey , commissioned by the Victims Of Communism Memorial Foundation , found a strong consensus view China as culpable .
An overwhelming majority of 69 % believe China is somewhat or very much responsible for the coronavirus , with around 40 % viewing China more negatively as a result of the pandemic .
The poll also found that 71 % say China should be “ penalized ” for its role in the pandemic , with 41 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kind of international sanctions , 33 percent supporting additional tariffs on Chinese goods , and 32 percent wanting the United States to refuse interest on Chinese-held federal bonds .
The survey also show revealed that roughly two-thirds of the public view China as an adversarial competitor , while just 6 percent see the communist state as an ally .
“ It wasn ’ t until this poll that we saw the full extent by which a majority of Americans directly blame the Chinese government , ” VOC Executive Director Marion Smith commented .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ lack of transparency , lapses in communication , and spread of misinformation rapidly escalated the spread of the virus and hindered preventative measures on a global scale , ” Smith continued , adding that “ These are numbers that are akin to how Americans viewed the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
” The findings dovetail with another YouGov poll , commissioned by The Economist , that found two thirds of Americans believe China ’ s handling of the crisis led to a global pandemic .
Meanwhile , the rhetoric between China and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as National Security Advisor Robert O ’ Brien stated this week that five plagues have originated in China in the last 20 years .
“ We can no longer have these plagues coming out of China ” , O ’ Brien urged , telling reporters that “ We know [ the latest coronavirus ] came from Wuhan and I think there ’ s circumstantial evidence that it could have come from the lab or the wet market .
But , again , if you ’ re China , neither one ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world put up with this terrible public health situation that you ’ ve got in the People ’ s Republic of China that is being unleashed on the world ?
” O ’ Brien asked .

A poll conducted by YouGov has found that more than two-thirds of Americans blame China for the global coronavirus pandemic.
The survey, commissioned by the Victims Of Communism Memorial Foundation, found a strong consensus view China as culpable.
New YouGov poll: – 69% say China is somewhat or very much responsible for the coronavirus – 67% view China as either a competitor or an enemy – 40% view China more negatively as a result of the coronavirus pandemic Glad most Americans still have some common sense. — Cassandra (@CassyWearsHeels) May 14, 2020
An overwhelming majority of 69% believe China is somewhat or very much responsible for the coronavirus, with around 40% viewing China more negatively as a result of the pandemic.
The poll also found that 71% say China should be “penalized” for its role in the pandemic, with 41% of this subgroup believing there should be some kind of international sanctions, 33 percent supporting additional tariffs on Chinese goods, and 32 percent wanting the United States to refuse interest on Chinese-held federal bonds.
The survey also show revealed that roughly two-thirds of the public view China as an adversarial competitor, while just 6 percent see the communist state as an ally.
“It wasn’t until this poll that we saw the full extent by which a majority of Americans directly blame the Chinese government,” VOC Executive Director Marion Smith commented.
“The Chinese Communist Party’s lack of transparency, lapses in communication, and spread of misinformation rapidly escalated the spread of the virus and hindered preventative measures on a global scale,” Smith continued, adding that “These are numbers that are akin to how Americans viewed the Soviet Union during the Cold War.”
The findings dovetail with another YouGov poll, commissioned by The Economist, that found two thirds of Americans believe China’s handling of the crisis led to a global pandemic.
Economist/YouGov Poll (May 10- 12, 2020)
Q: China Responsible for Pandemic
Do you think China’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak led to the worldwide pandemic? Yes 65% No 13% Not sure 22% — Americus (@AmericusUSA) May 13, 2020
Meanwhile, the rhetoric between China and the US continues to make headlines, as National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien stated this week that five plagues have originated in China in the last 20 years.
“We can no longer have these plagues coming out of China”, O’Brien urged, telling reporters that “We know [the latest coronavirus] came from Wuhan and I think there’s circumstantial evidence that it could have come from the lab or the wet market. But, again, if you’re China, neither one’s a good answer.”
“How longer can the world put up with this terrible public health situation that you’ve got in the People’s Republic of China that is being unleashed on the world?” O’Brien asked.


newswars--2020-05-14--CNN Poll Shows Trump Beating Biden By 7 Points In Key States

A CNN poll indicates that President Trump is comfortably ahead of Sleepy Joe Biden in fifteen key battleground states , @ @ @ @ @ 52 to 45 percent .
CNN also noted that “ The results suggest that younger @ @ @ @ @ are tilted in favor of Trump , a stark change from the last CNN poll @ @ @ @ @ analyzed in March.
” The numbers in the poll indicate that Trump should win in @ @ @ @ @ is even leading in states that Hillary Clinton won four years ago , such as @ @ @ @ @ Nevada , Minesotta , Viriginia , Maine , and New Hampshire .
Who would have @ @ @ @ @ basement , and barely being able to string a sentence together could lose you an @ @ @ @ @ President Trump must make a firm stance about the issue to re-open America before the @ @ @ @ @ cause him to lose support .

A CNN poll indicates that President Trump is comfortably ahead of Sleepy Joe Biden in fifteen key battleground states, leading by seven points, 52 to 45 percent.
CNN also noted that “The results suggest that younger voters in the battleground states are tilted in favor of Trump, a stark change from the last CNN poll in which battleground voters were analyzed in March.”
The numbers in the poll indicate that Trump should win in an electoral landslide.
He is even leading in states that Hillary Clinton won four years ago, such as Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Minesotta, Viriginia, Maine, and New Hampshire.
Who would have thought that hiding in a basement, and barely being able to string a sentence together could lose you an election?
Owen explains why President Trump must make a firm stance about the issue to re-open America before the Democrats flip the story and cause him to lose support.


newswars--2020-05-14--Rand Paul: Biden Has Been “Caught Red-Handed” Abusing Spy Powers

Senator Rand Paul declared Wednesday that Joe Biden has been “ caught red handed ” abusing surveillance powers to go after a political opponent .
Paul was recating to the news that Joe Biden is on the list of Obama officials who potentially received intelligence by way of unmasking requests against Mike Flynn , President Trump ’ s former national security advisor .
“ Remember we went through this thing called impeachment ?
” Senator Paul stated at a briefing .
“ They said President Trump was using the govt to go after a political opponent ?
This is VP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US to go after a political opponent.
” Paul declared , adding “ He ’ s caught red-handed here.
” “ How unusual is this that the entire upper echelon — individually it wasn ’ t just one request for this , there were dozens of requests .
Almost everyone in President Obama ’ s top circle wanted to see this and wanted to listen to this conversation.
” Paul noted , responding to a question about criminal proceedings being pursued .
“ This isn ’ t about national security , this is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the new president ’ s top advisor .
This is very , very troubling.
” Paul continued .
The Senator note that the abuse of powers appears to have gone all the way to the top .
“ This was being led by at least by Vice President Biden , if not [ President Obama ] , and we need to get to the bottom of it to make sure it never happens again.
” he said .
Paul warned that if it becomes the norm to abuse such powers , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ For the average American , they ’ re worried that this could happen to a top general like Flynn , but could you imagine this power being unharnessed on an ordinary American ?
How would we defend ourselves ?
he urged .
“ This is incredibly troubling and shocking , that the previous administration , under President Obama , under Vice President Biden ’ s specific instruction , was eavesdropping on an American — an American advisor to the next president.
” Paul proclaimed .
“ If Vice President Biden and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were all listening to a senior Trump advisor ’ s personal phone conversation , this would amount to a serious abuse of power .
The only question remains is ‘ What did President Obama know , and when did he know it ?
’ ” Paul questioned .
“ We now know at the very least Vice President Biden was in this up to his eyeballs.
” the Senator further told reporters .
Paul announced that he is inviting Acting Director of U.S. National Intelligence Richard Grenell , who released the list of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senate .
In his basement , Joe Biden sighed his way through an interview , admitting that he was briefed on the Flynn investigation , immediately after claiming “ I knew nothing ” .
He can ’ t keep his story straight for one minute .
Imagine if sleepy Joe had to testify .

Senator Rand Paul declared Wednesday that Joe Biden has been “caught red handed” abusing surveillance powers to go after a political opponent.
Paul was recating to the news that Joe Biden is on the list of Obama officials who potentially received intelligence by way of unmasking requests against Mike Flynn, President Trump’s former national security advisor.
SCOOP @CBSNews obtains @RichardGrenell notification to congress declassified “unmasking list” Flynn between late 2016 and January 2017 pic.twitter.com/axc8MHvYYd — Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) May 13, 2020
SCOOP @CBSNews obtains @RichardGrenell notification to congress declassified “unmasking list” Flynn between late 2016 and January 2017 – Read 3 pages provided by NSA here pic.twitter.com/NozVpQlRn2 — Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) May 13, 2020
“Remember we went through this thing called impeachment?” Senator Paul stated at a briefing.
“They said President Trump was using the govt to go after a political opponent? This is VP Biden using the spying powers of the US to go after a political opponent.” Paul declared, adding “He’s caught red-handed here.”
.@RandPaul: “Remember we went through this thing called impeachment? They said President @realDonaldTrump was using the govt to go after a political opponent? This is VP Biden using the spying powers of the US to go after a political opponent. He’s caught red-handed here.” pic.twitter.com/r0j7falhQq — The Hill (@thehill) May 13, 2020
“How unusual is this that the entire upper echelon — individually it wasn’t just one request for this, there were dozens of requests. Almost everyone in President Obama’s top circle wanted to see this and wanted to listen to this conversation.” Paul noted, responding to a question about criminal proceedings being pursued.
“This isn’t about national security, this is about eavesdropping on your opponent and eavesdropping on the new president’s top advisor. This is very, very troubling.” Paul continued.
The Senator note that the abuse of powers appears to have gone all the way to the top.
“This was being led by at least by Vice President Biden, if not [President Obama], and we need to get to the bottom of it to make sure it never happens again.” he said.
Paul warned that if it becomes the norm to abuse such powers, they can be used against everyday Americans.
“For the average American, they’re worried that this could happen to a top general like Flynn, but could you imagine this power being unharnessed on an ordinary American? How would we defend ourselves? he urged.
Sen. Rand Paul: “We now know at the very least Vice President Biden was in this up to his eyeballs.” pic.twitter.com/CUztQG2LrL — The Hill (@thehill) May 13, 2020
“This is incredibly troubling and shocking, that the previous administration, under President Obama, under Vice President Biden’s specific instruction, was eavesdropping on an American — an American advisor to the next president.” Paul proclaimed.
“If Vice President Biden and the president’s inner circle of advisors were all listening to a senior Trump advisor’s personal phone conversation, this would amount to a serious abuse of power. The only question remains is ‘What did President Obama know, and when did he know it?’” Paul questioned.
“We now know at the very least Vice President Biden was in this up to his eyeballs.” the Senator further told reporters.
Paul announced that he is inviting Acting Director of U.S. National Intelligence Richard Grenell, who released the list of Obama officials, to testify in the Senate.
Yesterday I wrote to DNI @RichardGrenell requesting the names of those who were involved in Gen Flynn’s unmasking. Today I received the shocking reply that @JoeBiden and many others knew! What did President Obama know? I am inviting DNI Grenell to testify next week in the Senate pic.twitter.com/IHpGjeVWwM — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) May 13, 2020
In his basement, Joe Biden sighed his way through an interview, admitting that he was briefed on the Flynn investigation, immediately after claiming “I knew nothing”.
He can’t keep his story straight for one minute. Imagine if sleepy Joe had to testify.


newswars--2020-05-14--Biden Spox Melts Down; Insults Journo Who Revealed Unmasking Role As ‘Partisan, Rightwing Hack’

Update ( 1745ET ) : The day just keeps getting better and better .
The left is now moving the goalposts , parroting the new talking point that : ‘ sure , Biden unmasked Flynn – but that just goes to show how concerned everyone was about him.
’ Biden spokesman Andrew Bates , meanwhile , took to Twitter to insult journalist Catherine Herridge as a “ partisan , rightwing hack who is a regular conduit for conservative media manipulation… ” for revealing Biden ’ s involvement in unmasking Flynn .
He then deleted the tweet and issued a statement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ manipulation to distract from his response to the worst public health crisis in 100 years , ” adding that the documents “ simply indicate the breadth and depth of concern across the American government — including among career officials — over intelligence reports of Michael Flynn ’ s attempts to undermine ongoing American national security policy through discussions with Russian officials or other foreign representatives.
” Somehow their response failed to include why Biden tried to lie on Tuesday about knowledge of the Flynn investigation .
Watch as Joe Biden and the rest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now that acting DNI director Richard Grenell has released the names of officials that asked for NSA unmasking in the days leading up to the Trump administration .
Update ( 1635ET ) : It did not take long for the liberalati to try and distract from what just dropped and to turn their cognitive dissonance up to ’ 11 ’ .
None other than Ben Rhodes quickly ranted : To which The Wall Street Journal ’ s Kimberley Strassel rebuked rather eloquently… But perhaps most notable is the fact the unmasking involved here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supposedly triggered the move against Flynn et al .
Another riddle we are sure Messrs. Biden et al .
will quickly mumble-splain .
A list of Obama administration officials who participated in the ‘ unmasking ’ of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has been released by Sens .
Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley .
The names include former FBI Director James Comey , former CIA Director John Brennan , former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper , and former Vice President Joe Biden .
The revelation comes after Biden was caught trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Flynn investigation during a Tuesday morning interview – changing course after host George Stephanopoulos pointed out his documented attendance at a January 5 Oval Office meeting in which key members of the Obama administration discussed the ongoing investigation into Flynn ’ s intercepted contacts with the Russian ambassador .
Notably , Obama asked Comey to conceal the FBI ’ s investigation from the incoming administration .
As we have previously noted , “ unmasking ” is a term used when the identity of a U.S. citizen or lawful resident is revealed in classified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials receive intelligence reports , the names of American citizens are redacted to protect their privacy .
But officials can request that names , listed as “ U.S .
Person 1 , ” for example , be unmasked internally in order to give context about the potential value of the intelligence .
Unmasking is justified for national security reasons but is governed by strict rules across the U.S. intelligence apparatus that make it illegal to pursue for political reasons or to leak classified information generated by the process .
Last week , Acting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Justice Department with the list of unmaskers , which the DOJ effectively said was up to him to release , according to a Fox News report .
After Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice was outed as the ringleader of an unmasking campaign , the Wall Street Journalreported that she wasn ’ t the only administration official to participate in Flynn ’ s unmasking .
The new disclosure comes after the FBI was revealed to have attempted to ensnare Flynn in a perjury trap , despite the agency ’ s own DC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closed .

Update (1745ET): The day just keeps getting better and better. The left is now moving the goalposts, parroting the new talking point that: ‘sure, Biden unmasked Flynn – but that just goes to show how concerned everyone was about him.’
Biden spokesman Andrew Bates, meanwhile, took to Twitter to insult journalist Catherine Herridge as a “partisan, rightwing hack who is a regular conduit for conservative media manipulation…” for revealing Biden’s involvement in unmasking Flynn.
He then deleted the tweet and issued a statement accusing President Trump of “dishonest media manipulation to distract from his response to the worst public health crisis in 100 years,” adding that the documents “simply indicate the breadth and depth of concern across the American government — including among career officials — over intelligence reports of Michael Flynn’s attempts to undermine ongoing American national security policy through discussions with Russian officials or other foreign representatives.”
.@JoeBiden camp responds to “unmasking” list: “These documents simply indicate the breadth and depth of concern across the American govt…over intelligence reports of Michael Flynn’s attempts to undermine ongoing American national security policy” via @AndrewBatesNC pic.twitter.com/bNl9Fp5JH1 — Bo Erickson CBS (@BoKnowsNews) May 13, 2020
Somehow their response failed to include why Biden tried to lie on Tuesday about knowledge of the Flynn investigation.
Watch as Joe Biden and the rest of the Obama administration degenerates are exposed now that acting DNI director Richard Grenell has released the names of officials that asked for NSA unmasking in the days leading up to the Trump administration.
* * *
Update (1635ET): It did not take long for the liberalati to try and distract from what just dropped and to turn their cognitive dissonance up to ’11’. None other than Ben Rhodes quickly ranted:
“The unconfirmed, acting DNI using his position to criminalize routine intelligence work to help re-elect the president and obscure Russian intervention in our democracy would normally be the scandal here…”
To which The Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassel rebuked rather eloquently…
“This is the best they’ve got–to complain about transparency.“
But perhaps most notable is the fact the unmasking involved here occurred BEFORE the Kislyak call that was supposedly triggered the move against Flynn et al.
Another riddle we are sure Messrs. Biden et al. will quickly mumble-splain.
* * *
A list of Obama administration officials who participated in the ‘unmasking’ of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has been released by Sens. Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley. The names include former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and former Vice President Joe Biden.
SCOOP @CBSNews obtains @RichardGrenell notification to congress declassified “unmasking list” Flynn between late 2016 and January 2017 – Read 3 pages provided by NSA here pic.twitter.com/NozVpQlRn2 — Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) May 13, 2020
#FLYNN unmasking docs include these key details “Each individual was an authorized recipient of the original report and the unmasking was approved through NSA’s standard process..While the principals are identified below, we cannot confirm they saw the unmasked information.” pic.twitter.com/vz9W3uHPSz — Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) May 13, 2020
The revelation comes after Biden was caught trying to lie about his knowledge of the Flynn investigation during a Tuesday morning interview – changing course after host George Stephanopoulos pointed out his documented attendance at a January 5 Oval Office meeting in which key members of the Obama administration discussed the ongoing investigation into Flynn’s intercepted contacts with the Russian ambassador.
Notably, Obama asked Comey to conceal the FBI’s investigation from the incoming administration.
Declassified documents reveal V.P. Biden ordered the unmasking of General Flynn’s private conversation.
Anyone think that Biden might have abused his power to go after a political opponent… — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) May 13, 2020
The Senate must immediately hold hearings on this! Clapper, Comey, Brennan and even Biden owe it to the American people. They should testify under oath. What did the former president know? — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) May 13, 2020
As we have previously noted, “unmasking” is a term used when the identity of a U.S. citizen or lawful resident is revealed in classified intelligence reports. Normally, when government officials receive intelligence reports, the names of American citizens are redacted to protect their privacy. But officials can request that names, listed as “U.S. Person 1,” for example, be unmasked internally in order to give context about the potential value of the intelligence. Unmasking is justified for national security reasons but is governed by strict rules across the U.S. intelligence apparatus that make it illegal to pursue for political reasons or to leak classified information generated by the process.
Last week, Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell visited the Justice Department with the list of unmaskers, which the DOJ effectively said was up to him to release, according to a Fox News report.
After Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice was outed as the ringleader of an unmasking campaign, the Wall Street Journalreported that she wasn’t the only administration official to participate in Flynn’s unmasking.
The new disclosure comes after the FBI was revealed to have attempted to ensnare Flynn in a perjury trap, despite the agency’s own DC field office suggesting that the case be closed.


newswars--2020-05-14--NYT Panics After Instagram Influencers With Millions Of Followers Start Going Down The Rabbit Hole

The New York Times is in panic mode after seeing popular influencers are sharing the viral “ Plandemic ” conspiracy flick and talking about ObamaGate with their millions of followers instead of just posting selfies and pushing product .
NYT reporter Taylor Lorenz whined about the situation in a thread Wednesday on Twitter : Jon Rappoport guest hosts The Alex Jones Show to show people the reason why they need to watch Vaxxed II https : //www.vaxxed2.com/ The Times on Wednesday also ran a propaganda piece titled , “ Get Ready for a Vaccine Information War , ” that whines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ misinformation ” spreading like wildfire on social media and calls for Big Tech companies to “ take the threat of vaccine-related misinformation seriously and devote tremendous resources to stopping its spread.
” Rolling Stone joined in with an article whining about TikTok not doing enough to censor views they don ’ t like : The only video I ’ ve seen censored as aggressively as Plandemic is the Brenton Tarrant mass shooting in New Zealand — which was a livestreamed massacre .
Nonetheless , despite Big Tech ’ s censorship just one Plandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1.3 million views .
I didn ’ t find the film particularly compelling but the fact it ’ s being censored like crazy is no doubt causing millions of people to want to watch it even more .
Censorship works best when people don ’ t even realize it ’ s happening but Big Tech has gone to such extremes to censor absolutely everything that it ’ s clearly now backfiring .
As I said in late April , we ’ re entering what may be the greatest revolutionary moment in a century @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home for the first time in their lives with nothing to distract them and studying how we ’ ve been railroaded and robbed of our futures by our criminal ruling oligarchs .
If our parasitic rulers wanted people to believe and trust everything they say , perhaps they should have thought about that before they decided to lie to the public non-stop about everything for decades .
This is the future you chose .

The New York Times is in panic mode after seeing popular influencers are sharing the viral “Plandemic” conspiracy flick and talking about ObamaGate with their millions of followers instead of just posting selfies and pushing product.
NYT reporter Taylor Lorenz whined about the situation in a thread Wednesday on Twitter:
Another one with 2.3m followers. Carmella Rose spent yesterday posting about Obamagate, the plandemic video/promoting anti vaxx content in between photos and videos of herself https://t.co/6IcEwNbOQv pic.twitter.com/4CH6ziMNPd — Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) May 13, 2020
Jon Rappoport guest hosts The Alex Jones Show to show people the reason why they need to watch Vaxxed II https://www.vaxxed2.com/
The evolution of L.A. #resistance influencers to full on conspiracy theorists is something to watch. Here’s one influencer just 2 yrs ago, posing in RBG socks, calling herself a “nasty woman,” posting abt feminism and male privilege https://t.co/xV6sL9JcF3 pic.twitter.com/svfheojg4E — Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) May 13, 2020
Here she is today posting a steady stream of content promoting COVID-19 and 5G conspiracies, QANON, anti vaxx messaging, and “censorship” abt the “plandemic”. She’s even launched a YT channel to “share this truth with others” https://t.co/xV6sL9JcF3 pic.twitter.com/B7RAUFaf3Q — Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) May 13, 2020
People think “oh these influencers are just doing it for traffic” but that’s not it. Many people deeply believe this stuff now. They don’t care if they lose some followers b/c they see these dangerous conspiracies as the “truth” and are intent to spread it. pic.twitter.com/ooEBboQN62 — Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) May 13, 2020
The Times on Wednesday also ran a propaganda piece titled, “Get Ready for a Vaccine Information War,” that whines about “conspiracy theories” and “misinformation” spreading like wildfire on social media and calls for Big Tech companies to “take the threat of vaccine-related misinformation seriously and devote tremendous resources to stopping its spread.”
Wrote about a morbid thought I’ve been having lately, watching the spread of anti-vaxx propaganda like Plandemic. What if we develop a successful Covid-19 vaccine and a huge chunk of the population just…refuses to take it? https://t.co/Y61AlsJGVv — Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) May 13, 2020
Rolling Stone joined in with an article whining about TikTok not doing enough to censor views they don’t like:
One video shows someone promoting the idea that the COVID vaccine is the “mark of the beast” and that he’d rather die than get a vaccine. It has 66,000 views and is one of the first that show up when you search the #vaccine hashtag. pic.twitter.com/0MAikroug9 — Ej Dickson (@ejdickson) May 13, 2020
The only video I’ve seen censored as aggressively as Plandemic is the Brenton Tarrant mass shooting in New Zealand — which was a livestreamed massacre.
Nonetheless, despite Big Tech’s censorship just one Plandemic reupload of dozens on BitChute has over 1.3 million views.
I didn’t find the film particularly compelling but the fact it’s being censored like crazy is no doubt causing millions of people to want to watch it even more.
Censorship works best when people don’t even realize it’s happening but Big Tech has gone to such extremes to censor absolutely everything that it’s clearly now backfiring.
As I said in late April, we’re entering what may be the greatest revolutionary moment in a century and millions of Americans are sitting at home for the first time in their lives with nothing to distract them and studying how we’ve been railroaded and robbed of our futures by our criminal ruling oligarchs.
If our parasitic rulers wanted people to believe and trust everything they say, perhaps they should have thought about that before they decided to lie to the public non-stop about everything for decades.
This is the future you chose.


newswars--2020-05-14--Texas Medical Board Responds To Complaint About Gates-Honored ‘Get Rid Of All The Whites’ Doctor

Dr. Carol Baker , a vaccine expert who was appointed by the Obama administration to lead a CDC advisory committee and was honored at a ceremony funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation , is facing widespread criticism following a NATIONAL FILE report on her videotaped proposal to “ get rid of all the whites in the United States ” to stop “ vaccine refusers ” ( Video Featured Below ) .
A reader sent us the Texas Medical Board ’ s response to a formal complaint against Baker .
The letter states that “ the Board has already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your complaint.
” Rand Paul absolutely demolished the wannabe tyrant Anthony Fauci and exposed the absurdity of his continued economic suicide policies .
Carol Baker ’ s reviews on WebMD are also justifiably negative these days , including “ This woman dreams of being the new Adolf Hitler ” and “ Ending the existence of white peoples in America isn ’ t preventative medicine , it ’ s genocide.
” Dr. Carol Baker of Houston is caught on tape proposing that society “ get rid of all the whites in the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine refusers.
” Baker has recently served as the executive director of the Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research at Texas Children ’ s Hospital .
Baker was honored in Washington , D.C. with the Sabin Vaccine Institute ’ s 2019 Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal at a ceremony “ made possible in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Pfizer.
” In 2009 , Obama administration Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appointed Baker to chair the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until 2012 and she served as a liaison representative of that committee as recently as 2019 .
“ So I have the solution .
Every study published in the last five years , when you look at vaccine refusers .
I ’ m not talking about…hesitance , most of them we can talk into coming to terms .
But refusers .
We ’ ll just get rid of all the whites in the United States , ” Baker said at the “ Achieving Childhood Vaccine Success in the U.S. ” expert panel discussion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York City on May 9 , 2016 .
“ Guess who wants to get vaccinated the most ?
Immigrants .
”

Dr. Carol Baker, a vaccine expert who was appointed by the Obama administration to lead a CDC advisory committee and was honored at a ceremony funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is facing widespread criticism following a NATIONAL FILE report on her videotaped proposal to “get rid of all the whites in the United States” to stop “vaccine refusers” (Video Featured Below).
A reader sent us the Texas Medical Board’s response to a formal complaint against Baker. The letter states that “the Board has already been notified of the allegations made in your complaint.”
Rand Paul absolutely demolished the wannabe tyrant Anthony Fauci and exposed the absurdity of his continued economic suicide policies.
Carol Baker’s reviews on WebMD are also justifiably negative these days, including “This woman dreams of being the new Adolf Hitler” and “Ending the existence of white peoples in America isn’t preventative medicine, it’s genocide.”
Dr. Carol Baker of Houston is caught on tape proposing that society “get rid of all the whites in the United States” to reduce the number of “vaccine refusers.” Baker has recently served as the executive director of the Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research at Texas Children’s Hospital. Baker was honored in Washington, D.C. with the Sabin Vaccine Institute’s 2019 Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal at a ceremony “made possible in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Pfizer.” In 2009, Obama administration Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appointed Baker to chair the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Baker chaired through committee until 2012 and she served as a liaison representative of that committee as recently as 2019.
“So I have the solution. Every study published in the last five years, when you look at vaccine refusers. I’m not talking about…hesitance, most of them we can talk into coming to terms. But refusers. We’ll just get rid of all the whites in the United States,” Baker said at the “Achieving Childhood Vaccine Success in the U.S.” expert panel discussion sponsored by the National Meningitis Association in New York City on May 9, 2016. “Guess who wants to get vaccinated the most? Immigrants.”


newswars--2020-05-14--The Perpetual Crisis: Now The WHO Is Telling Us That COVID-19 “May Never Go Away”

Are you ready for “ the new normal ” to become permanent ?
Originally , most of us assumed that “ shelter-in-place orders ” and “ social distancing restrictions ” would just be temporary , but now top health officials are warning us that some of these temporary measures may have to remain in place for the foreseeable future .
That means that our lives could be severely disrupted for a long time to come .
In fact , Dr. Anthony Fauci just told a Senate Committee that it may not be safe for schools all over America to reopen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fall .
Apparently Fauci and other medical “ experts ” believe that it will not be possible for us to fully go back to our normal lives as long as this virus keeps spreading .
Alex Jones breaks down the paper trail proving the W.H.O .
is well aware sterilants are being added to the vaccines .
But how long are we really supposed to wait ?
The truth is that this pandemic could still potentially be in the early chapters .
The Spanish Flu pandemic lasted for three full years , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ similar scenario .
And this week WHO official Mike Ryan warned that this virus could even become “ endemic ” , and if that happens it “ may never go away ” … “ It is important to put this on the table : this virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities , and this virus may never go away , ” WHO emergencies expert Mike Ryan told an online briefing .
“ I think it is important we are realistic and I don ’ t think anyone can predict @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he added .
“ I think there are no promises in this and there are no dates .
This disease may settle into a long problem , or it may not be.
” In other words , Ryan is saying that this virus could become like a flu that keeps reappearing year after year .
So what are we going to do if that happens ?
Are we supposed to have shutdowns every year whenever a new wave of COVID-19 infections starts happening ?
Of course the lockdowns haven ’ t really been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ temporarily slowed down the spread of the virus , but eventually most of the U.S. population is going to get exposed to it anyway no matter what we do .
But instead of facing the reality of this pandemic , Fauci continues to stick to his guns .
And many Americans were completely outraged when he suggested that schools should continue to remain closed when the next school year is scheduled to begin .
The following bit of commentary comes from Tucker Carlson… So just to be clear , Fauci was not simply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workers staying at home for the foreseeable future .
He implied that schools and colleges will be able to reopen only if there is a cure for this virus or a vaccine .
He said that prospect was a bridge too far .
In other words , no school until the coronavirus has been cured — stopped .
The problem is there is currently no approved vaccine for any of the several coronaviruses out there .
We still don ’ t have one for SARS .
So , that may never happen .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A lot of people out there didn ’ t seem to believe me when I first started talking about how difficult it will be for researchers to create a vaccine for COVID-19 .
Just like Tucker Carlson has said , there has never been a successful vaccine for any coronavirus in all of human history .
Despite all of our efforts , there is no vaccine for SARS .
And despite all of our efforts , there is no vaccine for MERS .
Needless to say , there isn ’ t such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine ” either , because such a thing does not exist .
Perhaps our scientists will beat the odds this time , and they will certainly do their best to do so .
But meanwhile many local officials all over the nation seem convinced that the best strategy for now is to continue keeping people at home .
For example , the “ stay-at-home order ” in Washington D.C. was just extended through June 8th… And Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer just extended the “ stay-at-home order ” in Los Angeles County indefinitely… @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Garcetti told Good Morning America that his city will “ never be completely open until we have a cure.
” Good luck with all that .
I am so glad that I don ’ t live in Los Angeles , because residents of that city could be waiting for a “ vaccine ” or a “ cure ” for a very , very long time .
Are residents of L.A. just supposed to put their lives on hold indefinitely ?
On Wednesday , we learned that the Hollywood Bowl has completely canceled their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saddened when I first read about that .
Social gatherings are so central to the human experience , and now we are being told that most of our major social gatherings will need to be delayed , postponed or canceled for the foreseeable future .
And what makes all of this even more tragic is that we are now learning that these lockdowns were never necessary in the first place .
If we all had worn masks from the very beginning , kept our Vitamin D levels up and used basic common sense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lives all this time just like they have been doing in Japan and Sweden .
Unfortunately , common sense is in short supply in America today , and it looks like this pandemic will continue to greatly disrupt our lives for a long time to come .

Are you ready for “the new normal” to become permanent?
Originally, most of us assumed that “shelter-in-place orders” and “social distancing restrictions” would just be temporary, but now top health officials are warning us that some of these temporary measures may have to remain in place for the foreseeable future.
That means that our lives could be severely disrupted for a long time to come. In fact, Dr. Anthony Fauci just told a Senate Committee that it may not be safe for schools all over America to reopen when the next school year begins in the fall.
Apparently Fauci and other medical “experts” believe that it will not be possible for us to fully go back to our normal lives as long as this virus keeps spreading.
Alex Jones breaks down the paper trail proving the W.H.O. is well aware sterilants are being added to the vaccines.
But how long are we really supposed to wait?
The truth is that this pandemic could still potentially be in the early chapters. The Spanish Flu pandemic lasted for three full years, and we could possibly be facing a similar scenario.
And this week WHO official Mike Ryan warned that this virus could even become “endemic”, and if that happens it “may never go away”…
“It is important to put this on the table: this virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away,” WHO emergencies expert Mike Ryan told an online briefing. “I think it is important we are realistic and I don’t think anyone can predict when this disease will disappear,” he added. “I think there are no promises in this and there are no dates. This disease may settle into a long problem, or it may not be.”
In other words, Ryan is saying that this virus could become like a flu that keeps reappearing year after year.
So what are we going to do if that happens?
Are we supposed to have shutdowns every year whenever a new wave of COVID-19 infections starts happening?
Of course the lockdowns haven’t really been that effective anyway. They may have temporarily slowed down the spread of the virus, but eventually most of the U.S. population is going to get exposed to it anyway no matter what we do.
But instead of facing the reality of this pandemic, Fauci continues to stick to his guns. And many Americans were completely outraged when he suggested that schools should continue to remain closed when the next school year is scheduled to begin. The following bit of commentary comes from Tucker Carlson…
So just to be clear, Fauci was not simply talking about certain workers or even all workers staying at home for the foreseeable future. He implied that schools and colleges will be able to reopen only if there is a cure for this virus or a vaccine. He said that prospect was a bridge too far. In other words, no school until the coronavirus has been cured — stopped. The problem is there is currently no approved vaccine for any of the several coronaviruses out there. We still don’t have one for SARS. So, that may never happen. Once again, it has never happened.
A lot of people out there didn’t seem to believe me when I first started talking about how difficult it will be for researchers to create a vaccine for COVID-19.
Just like Tucker Carlson has said, there has never been a successful vaccine for any coronavirus in all of human history.
Despite all of our efforts, there is no vaccine for SARS.
And despite all of our efforts, there is no vaccine for MERS.
Needless to say, there isn’t such a thing as a “common cold vaccine” either, because such a thing does not exist.
Perhaps our scientists will beat the odds this time, and they will certainly do their best to do so.
But meanwhile many local officials all over the nation seem convinced that the best strategy for now is to continue keeping people at home.
For example, the “stay-at-home order” in Washington D.C. was just extended through June 8th…
Washington, D.C., is extending its stay-at-home order through June 8, Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) announced on Wednesday. The mayor said that the city has not yet met all the required benchmarks to reopen.
And Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer just extended the “stay-at-home order” in Los Angeles County indefinitely…
Meanwhile, Ferrer extended the county’s stay-at-home order, which was implemented to slow the spread of the coronavirus and has barred gatherings and mandated physical distancing requirements. She said there is no end date to the revised health order and stressed that people should stay home as much as possible to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, which has killed more than 1,600 people in the county. “As I’ve said from the beginning, this will be a slow journey,” Ferrer said.
Following that announcement, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti told Good Morning America that his city will “never be completely open until we have a cure.”
Good luck with all that.
I am so glad that I don’t live in Los Angeles, because residents of that city could be waiting for a “vaccine” or a “cure” for a very, very long time.
Are residents of L.A. just supposed to put their lives on hold indefinitely? On Wednesday, we learned that the Hollywood Bowl has completely canceled their entire summer concert season…
The Hollywood Bowl scrapped its entire summer concert season Wednesday due to the coronavirus crisis, in a “devastating” move that leaves the Los Angeles Philharmonic with an $80 million shortfall. The famous open-air California venue has hosted acts from the Beatles to Yo-Yo Ma over nearly a century, and its concerts from June through September are a staple of Los Angeles cultural life.
I was really saddened when I first read about that.
Social gatherings are so central to the human experience, and now we are being told that most of our major social gatherings will need to be delayed, postponed or canceled for the foreseeable future.
And what makes all of this even more tragic is that we are now learning that these lockdowns were never necessary in the first place. If we all had worn masks from the very beginning, kept our Vitamin D levels up and used basic common sense, we could have continued our normal lives all this time just like they have been doing in Japan and Sweden.
Unfortunately, common sense is in short supply in America today, and it looks like this pandemic will continue to greatly disrupt our lives for a long time to come.


newswars--2020-05-14--States Are Now Wrestling With The Biggest Budget Crisis They Have Faced In All Of U.S. History

Most U.S. states are seeing tax revenues completely and utterly collapse during this COVID-19 pandemic , and some are already begging the federal government for bailout money .
Because if dramatic intervention does not happen , many states are going to have to start savagely slashing their expenditures , and that could mean unprecedented job losses on the state government level .
Typically , state government bureaucrats make above average salaries and those jobs often come with very nice benefit packages .
Once those jobs have been eliminated , they will not be easy to replace .
Short on time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
The War Room Highlights covers clips from all 3 hours of the broadcast !
The tax revenue numbers that are starting to come in are nothing short of shocking .
Just consider these examples… And New Jersey officials just reported that tax revenue in their state fell a whopping 60 percent during the month of April compared to a year ago .
These are unprecedented figures , and they have created gaping holes in state budgets all over the nation… And what is truly frightening is that this new economic depression in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What will things look like once we get several more months down the road ?
Already , New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says that things are so bad in his state that a 61 billion dollar federal bailout is needed… Of course we have entered a time when literally everyone is going to be begging the federal government for money .
And as I discussed yesterday , all of the reckless borrowing and spending the federal government has been doing is going to absolutely wreck the value of our currency .
But most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the value of the U.S. dollar at this point .
They just want to to rev up the cash machine and try to patch up our sinking ship .
Another thing to keep a close eye on is the fact that public pension plans all over the country are headed for major problems .
In fact , U.S. public pension plans just had the worst quarter ever recorded… This was already an emerging crisis even before COVID-19 came along , and now a lot of these plans are going to be in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is one of the reasons why authorities are so desperate to prop up the stock market .
Pension plans have poured so much money into stocks in recent years , and that worked out just fine during the boom years .
But now that a new economic depression has arrived , it is going to turn out to be a catastrophic strategy .
Meanwhile , we continue to get more bad economic news with each passing day .
On Wednesday , we learned that Steak ‘ n Shake will be permanently shutting down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ score at home , these are more jobs that are never , ever coming back .
But I certainly can ’ t blame Steak ‘ n Shake for shutting down restaurants .
Social distancing restrictions will remain in effect in some areas of the country for many months to come , and fear of the coronavirus will keep many customers away long after all of the restrictions have finally been lifted .
Certain industries are just going to have to accept the fact that we have entered a new economic reality , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fundamentally change .
For example , the International Air Transport Association is already projecting lower levels of air travel for at least the next five years… I was stunned when I first read that .
But this is how fast an economic death spiral can happen .
Fear of the coronavirus has paralyzed economic demand , and this is causing businesses all over America to fail .
As more businesses fail , that creates even more economic fear , and lenders get even tighter with their money .
Hopefully we can break out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but of course this “ perfect storm ” that we are now facing is still only in the very early chapters .
At some point this coronavirus pandemic will fade , but there will be no running away from the consequences of decades of exceedingly foolish decisions .
Those decisions set the stage for the greatest economic crisis in our history , and now we are starting to watch that crisis play out right in front of our eyes on a daily basis .

Most U.S. states are seeing tax revenues completely and utterly collapse during this COVID-19 pandemic, and some are already begging the federal government for bailout money.
Because if dramatic intervention does not happen, many states are going to have to start savagely slashing their expenditures, and that could mean unprecedented job losses on the state government level.
Typically, state government bureaucrats make above average salaries and those jobs often come with very nice benefit packages.
Once those jobs have been eliminated, they will not be easy to replace.
Short on time, but still want to stay informed? The War Room Highlights covers clips from all 3 hours of the broadcast!
The tax revenue numbers that are starting to come in are nothing short of shocking. Just consider these examples…
Georgia is showing a decline of more than $100 million in sales tax, fuel tax and other tax revenue compared with the same period a year ago. Tennessee’s tax revenue is down more than $120 million. Pennsylvania’s is off by more $760 million, and Texas, which also has been hammered by the downturn in oil prices, has seen tax collections plummet by nearly $1 billion.
And New Jersey officials just reported that tax revenue in their state fell a whopping 60 percent during the month of April compared to a year ago.
These are unprecedented figures, and they have created gaping holes in state budgets all over the nation…
Colorado faces a gap of nearly a quarter of the state’s general budget. The projected gap in California is more than a fifth of its spending plan and in Oklahoma, a sixth. The governor of Oregon is preparing to cut 17% of her budget. Michigan may have to slash up to a quarter of the money it sends to schools.
And what is truly frightening is that this new economic depression in only a couple of months old.
What will things look like once we get several more months down the road?
Already, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says that things are so bad in his state that a 61 billion dollar federal bailout is needed…
said his state needs $61 billionin federal support “or we will wind up aggravating the situation” by forcing cuts to local governments. “You know who local governments are? That’s police, firefighters. You want me to cut hospitals? Hospitals are the nurses and the doctors who just got us through this and everyone celebrates as heroes. If you don’t fund the state, that’s who you’re cutting in terms of finances.”
Of course we have entered a time when literally everyone is going to be begging the federal government for money.
And as I discussed yesterday, all of the reckless borrowing and spending the federal government has been doing is going to absolutely wreck the value of our currency.
But most of our politicians are not really concerned about the value of the U.S. dollar at this point. They just want to to rev up the cash machine and try to patch up our sinking ship.
Another thing to keep a close eye on is the fact that public pension plans all over the country are headed for major problems. In fact, U.S. public pension plans just had the worst quarter ever recorded…
Public pension plans lost a median 13.2% in the three months ended March 31, according to Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service data released Tuesday, slightly more than in the fourth quarter of 2008. March’s stock market plummet led to the biggest one-quarter drop in the 40 years the firm has been tracking. “It was a horrible quarter for all public funds,” said Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund Investment Chief Angela Miller-May.
This was already an emerging crisis even before COVID-19 came along, and now a lot of these plans are going to be in very, very serious trouble.
This is one of the reasons why authorities are so desperate to prop up the stock market. Pension plans have poured so much money into stocks in recent years, and that worked out just fine during the boom years.
But now that a new economic depression has arrived, it is going to turn out to be a catastrophic strategy.
Meanwhile, we continue to get more bad economic news with each passing day. On Wednesday, we learned that Steak ‘n Shake will be permanently shutting down more than 50 locations…
The restaurant Steak ‘n Shake has announced the decision to permanently close at least 51 of its restaurant locations nationwide. The move comes amid growing worry about the COVID-19 outbreak and its damage on the company’s financial future. Biglari Holdings Inc. announced in its first quarter report that Steak ‘n Shake’s revenue has drop $59 million compared to the same time last year because of a decrease in demand.
For those keeping score at home, these are more jobs that are never, ever coming back.
But I certainly can’t blame Steak ‘n Shake for shutting down restaurants. Social distancing restrictions will remain in effect in some areas of the country for many months to come, and fear of the coronavirus will keep many customers away long after all of the restrictions have finally been lifted.
Certain industries are just going to have to accept the fact that we have entered a new economic reality, and business models are going to have to fundamentally change. For example, the International Air Transport Association is already projecting lower levels of air travel for at least the next five years…
Demand for air travel will lag behind pre-coronavirus forecasts for at least five more years, according to the latest projections from the International Air Transport Association. Global traffic, or the number of passengers carried times the distance flown, will still be about 10% below original estimates in 2025, Brian Pearce, the trade group’s chief economist, said in a media briefing Wednesday.
I was stunned when I first read that.
But this is how fast an economic death spiral can happen. Fear of the coronavirus has paralyzed economic demand, and this is causing businesses all over America to fail.
As more businesses fail, that creates even more economic fear, and lenders get even tighter with their money.
Hopefully we can break out of this cycle of fear eventually, but of course this “perfect storm” that we are now facing is still only in the very early chapters.
At some point this coronavirus pandemic will fade, but there will be no running away from the consequences of decades of exceedingly foolish decisions.
Those decisions set the stage for the greatest economic crisis in our history, and now we are starting to watch that crisis play out right in front of our eyes on a daily basis.


newswars--2020-05-14--Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes Down Governor’s Stay-at-Home Order

In a 4-3 decision , the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the Gov .
Tony Evers ’ administration ’ s stay-at-home order .
The ruling “ essentially reopens the state , lifting caps on the size of gatherings , allowing people to travel as they please and allowing shuttered businesses to reopen , including bars and restaurants , ” the Associated Press reported .
Health secretary Andrea Palm had issued the order , and the court found she didn ’ t have the authority to do so .
“ Rule-making exists precisely to ensure that kind of controlling , subjective @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Palm , is not imposed in Wisconsin , ” Chief Justice Patience Roggensack wrote in the majority opinion .
Owen and Savanah look at the ridiculous lockdown news coming from Democrat states , including a California incident where cops were confronted and reminded of the constitution .
Former Gov .
Scott Walker praised the court ’ s decision in a statement to Breitbart News .
“ The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the law , ” he said .
“ The rule of law must be upheld – even in emergencies .
I am @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Justices in the majority on the 4 – 3 decision .
”

In a 4-3 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the Gov. Tony Evers’ administration’s stay-at-home order.
The ruling “essentially reopens the state, lifting caps on the size of gatherings, allowing people to travel as they please and allowing shuttered businesses to reopen, including bars and restaurants,” the Associated Press reported.
Health secretary Andrea Palm had issued the order, and the court found she didn’t have the authority to do so.
“Rule-making exists precisely to ensure that kind of controlling, subjective judgement asserted by one unelected official, Palm, is not imposed in Wisconsin,” Chief Justice Patience Roggensack wrote in the majority opinion.
Owen and Savanah look at the ridiculous lockdown news coming from Democrat states, including a California incident where cops were confronted and reminded of the constitution.
Former Gov. Scott Walker praised the court’s decision in a statement to Breitbart News.
“The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the law,” he said.
“The rule of law must be upheld – even in emergencies. I am honored to have appointed two of the Justices in the majority on the 4 – 3 decision.”
Read more


newswars--2020-05-14--Watch: New Developments in Spygate & COVID-19 Nursing Home Scandals

Constitutional lawyer Robert Barnes shares his expertise and cutting-edge analysis on the world ’ s hottest issues for this Wednesday @ @ @ @ @ Joining tonight ’ s broadcast is veteran intel officer Jack Posobiec ( @ JackPosobiec ) @ @ @ @ @ .
You can also watch the program at infowars.com/show or AmericanCountdown.News Remember , American Countdown @ @ @ @ @ CST every Monday-Thursday .
Spread the word so others can hear directly from @ Barnes_Law @

Constitutional lawyer Robert Barnes shares his expertise and cutting-edge analysis on the world’s hottest issues for this Wednesday transmission of American Countdown. Joining tonight’s broadcast is veteran intel officer Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) of One America News Network.
You can also watch the program at infowars.com/show or AmericanCountdown.News
Remember, American Countdown is live from 7-9 PM CST every Monday-Thursday. Spread the word so others can hear directly from @Barnes_Law!
New Developments in Spygate & Covid-19 Nursing Home Scandals https://t.co/Oz74EstlZp — Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) May 13, 2020
Alex Jones exposes Bill Gates’ depopulation agenda!