lewrockwell--2020-04-30--What the COVID-19 Crisis Means for Europe and the Eurozone

[ An interview with Dr. Hulsmann , originally published in German by Die Freie Welt . ]
As a result of the corona crisis , economic life was severely restricted in many countries .
How long can the economy take this ?
As long as stocks last .
In other words : as long as you can allow yourself to live off previous savings .
There is no difference between a family and the overall economy in this regard .
The German federal government has passed a bailout fund of around €750 billion to stabilise the economy and save companies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economic downturn ?
From Bretton Woods to ... Hazlitt , Henry Best Price : $ 12.00 Buy New $ 52.12 No .
Such measures have two very different effects , which only give the brief appearance of a cushion .
On the one hand , income and wealth will be massively redistributed and , on the other hand , the future will be sacrificed on the altar of contemporary concerns .
Let me describe that in a little more detail .
The federal government ’ s bailout fund generates additional income or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this money come from ?
There are three main sources to consider : taxes , public debt , and the music press .
In all three cases , it is by no means the state that conjures up 750 billion out of nothing .
It is the citizens who are robbed of this sum in one form or another .
Taxes are not supposed to be raised this time .
I therefore conclude that the citizens will be expropriated , as in the past , by devaluing their financial assets .
Interest income @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are taxed with negative interest rates , and price inflation gnaws at what is left .
As in the past , this redistribution is justified by the fact that there would otherwise be a collapse in the financial markets , which would also severely damage the real economy .
Without the manna of the rescue umbrella , many companies would go bankrupt and lay off their workers .
Loans could not be reimbursed , causing the banking industry to collapse , which would affect other companies .
In a word , there would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and mass unemployment .
The citizens would be asked to foot the bill one way or another .
Either they have to fund the rescue package or they have to suffer the collapse of the entire economy .
All in all , therefore , it would be much better to fleece the citizens a little bit now , rather than to expose them to even greater losses .
This argument is correct insofar as rescue packages can prevent a short-term collapse .
This is exactly why the appearance of a cushion is created @ @ @ @ @ @ @ short-term success comes at the expense of the future .
The downturn is mitigated in the short term , but is reinforced in the long term .
With the 750 billion , companies are now being saved that have not done what companies are supposed to do .
They did not manage their own savings and other people ’ s savings sustainably .
They had a run at short-term profits and funded their ventures with loans .
It is these very firms , whose incompetence has become apparent through the crisis , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those who have wisely foregone credit-financed adventures will again be asked to foot the bill .
Hence , the real effect of the rescue package is to bring even more funds into projects that are already on shaky feet and are led by adventurers .
It is obvious what that means for the future .
The whole thing is compounded by the fact that government spending is notoriously inefficient and corrupt anyway .
Unfortunately , there is no reason to hope that people who fail in all other areas of responsibility ( education @ @ @ @ @ @ @ construction , national defence , etc . )
will find their first-class form right now .
Neither Liberty nor Sa ... Robert Higgs Best Price : $ 3.99 Buy New $ 10.00 Let me conclude on this question with an even more fundamental consideration .
It is wrong to always avoid short-term inconveniences at the expense of the future , especially with taxpayers ’ money .
But that ’ s exactly what we ’ ve been doing for many decades .
This little game was previously limited to banking and finance , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by experts .
It has been played on a large scale since 2008 and as a result is becoming the focus of the general public .
Anyway , it ’ s a very stupid game .
Some government-related agents benefit , but ordinary citizens can not gain anything here in the long run .
It would be much more sensible to seek solutions in a fundamentally different way .
You can actually make a good case for taking a short-term collapse of the entire economy “ on the chin ” —in Boris Johnson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be cured and put on a healthier basis in the long term .
After all , until recently , Germans were ready to leave their homes during the winter flu season and take the risk of catching a cold .
If you do not want to accept any risks and inconveniences now , you ’ ll get plenty of both in the long term .
What about the monetary system ?
Do you expect the eurozone to fall apart or inflation to rise ?
Higher price inflation , yes , but not a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inflation is unavoidable as government and central banks do anything to prevent that less money be spent overall in the economy .
Since they have the printing press , they will probably succeed .
In this case , price inflation is inevitable , since the supply of goods decreases due to the curfews .
The eurozone will stay together as long as there are no better alternatives for national governments .
The Italians grumble , but just like the Greeks back then , they will be wondering what loans they will get if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have not heard of eurobonds for a long time .
Now there are calls for corona bonds .
What do you think of this idea ?
Economic Depressions ( ... Murray N. Rothbard Best Price : $ 6.50 Buy New $ 6.00 Nothing at all .
They would exacerbate the basic problems of the eurozone : even more debt , more fragility , more irresponsibility by the immediate beneficiaries in politics and finance .
Corona bonds would be a disservice not only to German , but also to Italian taxpayers .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also be a disservice to the people who are dependent on medical services in Italy .
The Italian state is alone responsible for its financial calamities and for the overwhelming burden on its state-owned and state-run hospitals .
But even in the current mess , it could bring substantial relief in a fairly short time , simply by immediately liberating the private sector in the healthcare services .
But that ’ s exactly what the state doesn ’ t want to do .
Corona bonds are intended to ensure that nothing has to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changes in the state ’ s mismanagement and shortage economy .
Government representatives raise their fingers and contend : “ If you Germans don ’ t do anything for us , then people will die over here.
” The truth is that they themselves do not want to do anything that could question Italy ’ s inefficient welfare state .
They take the Germans into moral custody , but accept that Italians will remain underserved because they do not wish them to be provided for outside the welfare state .
If the shutdown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take for the economy to recover ?
Is this just a temporary slump or is the economic crisis going on for a long time ?
Basically , the recovery can take place very quickly .
My main concern is government intervention , which can prolong and increase the current difficulties .
The classic example from economic history is the Great Depression of the 1930s in the USA .
At that time , a simple stock market crash was so badly managed by ever new and increasingly rigid state intervention that it expanded into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you rate the crisis management in the different countries ?
The United Kingdom and the Netherlands have opted for mass immunisation , France for curfews .
Which reaction do you think is the right one ?
I am not an immunologist and do not presume to define the best solution from a medical point of view .
As an economist , however , I know the following : it is fundamentally wrong to put the entire economy at the service of a single goal and to commit to a single solution .
Human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and different means .
Of course , maintaining health can be of paramount importance in the short run .
But even then , it is never the sole goal and there are always different means .
Free competition is essential , particularly when it comes to the efficient selection of ways and means .
I therefore believe that the countries that respond best are those which give citizens and families the greatest possible freedom and responsibility , and which also do not centralise political responsibility , as here in France , but hand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other local authorities .
Examples would be Switzerland and the Netherlands .
The Tragedy of the Euro Philipp Bagus Best Price : $ 17.05 Which countries will emerge from the crisis as losers and which as winners ?
That ’ s difficult to say at the moment , because we are not through this yet .
As I said , the greatest imponderability lies in state action .
In any case , I do not see France , Italy , and Spain among the winners , since in these countries the crisis is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state to secure and expand their own privileges , if possible with the help of corona bonds .
Note : The views expressed on Mises.org are not necessarily those of the Mises Institute .
The Best of Jörg Guido Hülsmann

[An interview with Dr. Hulsmann, originally published in German by Die Freie Welt.]
As a result of the corona crisis, economic life was severely restricted in many countries. How long can the economy take this?
As long as stocks last. In other words: as long as you can allow yourself to live off previous savings. There is no difference between a family and the overall economy in this regard.
The German federal government has passed a bailout fund of around €750 billion to stabilise the economy and save companies from bankruptcy. Can such measures mitigate the economic downturn?
From Bretton Woods to ... Hazlitt, Henry Best Price: $12.00 Buy New $52.12 (as of 03:11 UTC - Details) No. Such measures have two very different effects, which only give the brief appearance of a cushion. On the one hand, income and wealth will be massively redistributed and, on the other hand, the future will be sacrificed on the altar of contemporary concerns. Let me describe that in a little more detail.
The federal government’s bailout fund generates additional income or income of €750 billion. Where does this money come from? There are three main sources to consider: taxes, public debt, and the printing press. In all three cases, it is by no means the state that conjures up 750 billion out of nothing. It is the citizens who are robbed of this sum in one form or another. Taxes are not supposed to be raised this time. I therefore conclude that the citizens will be expropriated, as in the past, by devaluing their financial assets. Interest income is pushed down even further. Savings are taxed with negative interest rates, and price inflation gnaws at what is left.
As in the past, this redistribution is justified by the fact that there would otherwise be a collapse in the financial markets, which would also severely damage the real economy. Without the manna of the rescue umbrella, many companies would go bankrupt and lay off their workers. Loans could not be reimbursed, causing the banking industry to collapse, which would affect other companies. In a word, there would be a downward spiral, standstill, and mass unemployment. The citizens would be asked to foot the bill one way or another. Either they have to fund the rescue package or they have to suffer the collapse of the entire economy. All in all, therefore, it would be much better to fleece the citizens a little bit now, rather than to expose them to even greater losses.
This argument is correct insofar as rescue packages can prevent a short-term collapse. This is exactly why the appearance of a cushion is created. Why only apparently? Because this short-term success comes at the expense of the future. The downturn is mitigated in the short term, but is reinforced in the long term. With the 750 billion, companies are now being saved that have not done what companies are supposed to do. They did not manage their own savings and other people’s savings sustainably. They had a run at short-term profits and funded their ventures with loans. It is these very firms, whose incompetence has become apparent through the crisis, that are now artificially kept alive. And those who have wisely foregone credit-financed adventures will again be asked to foot the bill. Hence, the real effect of the rescue package is to bring even more funds into projects that are already on shaky feet and are led by adventurers. It is obvious what that means for the future.
The whole thing is compounded by the fact that government spending is notoriously inefficient and corrupt anyway. Unfortunately, there is no reason to hope that people who fail in all other areas of responsibility (education, healthcare, airport construction, housing construction, national defence, etc.) will find their first-class form right now. Neither Liberty nor Sa... Robert Higgs Best Price: $3.99 Buy New $10.00 (as of 05:35 UTC - Details)
Let me conclude on this question with an even more fundamental consideration. It is wrong to always avoid short-term inconveniences at the expense of the future, especially with taxpayers’ money. But that’s exactly what we’ve been doing for many decades. This little game was previously limited to banking and finance, and as a result it was only noticed by experts. It has been played on a large scale since 2008 and as a result is becoming the focus of the general public. Anyway, it’s a very stupid game. Some government-related agents benefit, but ordinary citizens cannot gain anything here in the long run.
It would be much more sensible to seek solutions in a fundamentally different way. You can actually make a good case for taking a short-term collapse of the entire economy “on the chin”—in Boris Johnson’s memorable words—so that the economy be cured and put on a healthier basis in the long term. After all, until recently, Germans were ready to leave their homes during the winter flu season and take the risk of catching a cold. If you do not want to accept any risks and inconveniences now, you’ll get plenty of both in the long term.
What about the monetary system? Do you expect the eurozone to fall apart or inflation to rise?
Higher price inflation, yes, but not a disintegration of the eurozone.
Rising price inflation is unavoidable as government and central banks do anything to prevent that less money be spent overall in the economy. Since they have the printing press, they will probably succeed. In this case, price inflation is inevitable, since the supply of goods decreases due to the curfews.
The eurozone will stay together as long as there are no better alternatives for national governments. The Italians grumble, but just like the Greeks back then, they will be wondering what loans they will get if they give up the euro.
We have not heard of eurobonds for a long time. Now there are calls for corona bonds. What do you think of this idea?
Economic Depressions (... Murray N. Rothbard Best Price: $6.50 Buy New $6.00 (as of 06:35 UTC - Details) Nothing at all. They would exacerbate the basic problems of the eurozone: even more debt, more fragility, more irresponsibility by the immediate beneficiaries in politics and finance. Corona bonds would be a disservice not only to German, but also to Italian taxpayers. In the medium and long run, they would also be a disservice to the people who are dependent on medical services in Italy. The Italian state is alone responsible for its financial calamities and for the overwhelming burden on its state-owned and state-run hospitals. But even in the current mess, it could bring substantial relief in a fairly short time, simply by immediately liberating the private sector in the healthcare services. But that’s exactly what the state doesn’t want to do. Corona bonds are intended to ensure that nothing has to change, so that in fact nothing changes in the state’s mismanagement and shortage economy. Government representatives raise their fingers and contend: “If you Germans don’t do anything for us, then people will die over here.” The truth is that they themselves do not want to do anything that could question Italy’s inefficient welfare state. They take the Germans into moral custody, but accept that Italians will remain underserved because they do not wish them to be provided for outside the welfare state.
If the shutdown is lifted, how long will it take for the economy to recover? Is this just a temporary slump or is the economic crisis going on for a long time?
Basically, the recovery can take place very quickly. My main concern is government intervention, which can prolong and increase the current difficulties. The classic example from economic history is the Great Depression of the 1930s in the USA. At that time, a simple stock market crash was so badly managed by ever new and increasingly rigid state intervention that it expanded into a long-standing economic crisis.
How do you rate the crisis management in the different countries? The United Kingdom and the Netherlands have opted for mass immunisation, France for curfews. Which reaction do you think is the right one?
I am not an immunologist and do not presume to define the best solution from a medical point of view. As an economist, however, I know the following: it is fundamentally wrong to put the entire economy at the service of a single goal and to commit to a single solution. Human action always involves weighing up different goals and different means. Of course, maintaining health can be of paramount importance in the short run. But even then, it is never the sole goal and there are always different means. Free competition is essential, particularly when it comes to the efficient selection of ways and means. I therefore believe that the countries that respond best are those which give citizens and families the greatest possible freedom and responsibility, and which also do not centralise political responsibility, as here in France, but hand it over to the town halls and other local authorities. Examples would be Switzerland and the Netherlands. The Tragedy of the Euro Philipp Bagus Best Price: $17.05 (as of 02:55 UTC - Details)
Which countries will emerge from the crisis as losers and which as winners?
That’s difficult to say at the moment, because we are not through this yet. As I said, the greatest imponderability lies in state action. In any case, I do not see France, Italy, and Spain among the winners, since in these countries the crisis is “used” by circles close to the state to secure and expand their own privileges, if possible with the help of corona bonds.
Originally published in German by Die Freie Welt.
Note: The views expressed on Mises.org are not necessarily those of the Mises Institute.
The Best of Jörg Guido Hülsmann


lewrockwell--2020-04-30--‘The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave’

When Francis Scott Key wrote the words “ the land of the free and the home of the brave ” in 1814 , he did so in a poem called “ The Defense of Fort McHenry.
” The battle of Fort McHenry in Baltimore was a decisive one in which Americans truly demonstrated bravery and fought for freedom .
This was the War of 1812 , the origins of which are lost to history .
The British government claimed that President James Madison had designs on the British king ’ s lands in Canada , and so it attacked the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ British government ’ s stated reason for its attack was a pretense , as its real goal was to re-capture what many Britons still considered to be their colonies .
They thought this even though the Treaty of Paris , signed by the United States and Great Britain in 1783 , unambiguously recognized the United States of America as a free , independent and sovereign nation .
Notwithstanding its origins , the War of 1812 brought Americans perilously close to being British subjects again .
Both the U.S. Capitol and the White House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President and Mrs. Madison narrowly escaping .
Fort McHenry and Ba ... Scott S. Sheads Best Price : $ 4.97 Buy New $ 11.97 After the British tired of the war and went home , Key ’ s poem was set to the tune of a drinking song , popular among British soldiers and sailors .
It was re-named “ The Star-Spangled Banner , ” and it became a popular patriotic piece meant to commemorate American freedom and the bravery of those who fought to preserve it .
A century later , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ the land of the free and the home of the brave ” is as American as any one-liner in our history .
Could it be we have repeated it so often that we have lost sight of its meaning ?
Is the United States today the land of the free and the home of the brave ?
This is a painful question to ask and answer in these trying times .
The government has persuaded nearly all of us , with its selective employment of scientific data , that we are suffering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in China .
It probably did originate there , but the Trump administration declined to take it seriously for nearly three months .
Drop by drop , the intelligence data is being released or leaked , and it shows an administration indifferent to the plight of folks from China traveling west , gullibly accepting the deceptions of the government of China , arrogantly self-confident that it can ’ t happen here , ignorant of the ease with which a virus passes among the heedless , and unwilling to grasp the dangers making their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here — like a tidal wave — the government ’ s response has been to treat the freedoms for which brave men and women have fought and died as if they are not the inalienable personal rights Madison and Thomas Jefferson and all the founders and framers and the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution called them but rather privileges subject to government permission slips .
The Constitution openly and directly prohibits all governments from interfering with personal liberties like speech , press , travel , assembly , religion and commercial intercourse .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ government to follow if it can show that the freedom of some — like a bank robber — needs to be curtailed .
A bank robber gets a fair jury trial before losing his basic freedoms .
Today , the government threatens and punishes us without trial for exercising basic freedoms .
And all this do-as-I-say-today-or-face-newly-crafted-government-punishment nonsense , which is enforced by reluctant police who would rather chase a bank robber than a jogger in a government-owned park , is not the result of legislation enacted after a broad national debate , nor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rather , we have been silenced and immobilized and humiliated by the commands of 50 state governors — some more in-your-face than others — all profoundly offensive to the personal freedoms that the Constitution purports to guarantee .
Is the United States today the land of the free and the home of the brave ?
The War of 1812 : A For ... Hickey , Donald R Best Price : $ 11.76 Buy New $ 16.95 To ask that question is to answer it .
We have little freedom remaining because of our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an overbearing government acting as if we work for it and trampling our liberty in the name of public safety .
History shows that it takes a determined minority to seek and to preserve freedom .
Harvard Professor Bernard Bailyn , the country ’ s foremost scholar on the colonists at the eve of Revolution , has concluded that barely one-third of them favored violent secession from Britain .
Today , polls show a smaller percentage of present-day Americans as outraged at the loss of freedom as were those prepared to fight the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States today the land of the free and the home of the brave ?
Let ’ s answer rationally , not emotionally .
We have lost liberty without a shot being fired because most Americans prefer the comfort of safety to the battles for liberty .
We have allowed elected officials to do to us what our forebears shed blood in wartime to prevent foreign governments from doing to us .
All elected state governors in power today have nullified the freedom-protecting clauses of the Constitution .
If those clauses can be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ?
By supinely accepting all this , today we are neither free nor brave .
Today , we are the land of the fearful and the home of the confined .
Does the government work for us , or do we work for the government ?
The Best of Andrew P. Napolitano

Shop all books by Judge Napolitano
When Francis Scott Key wrote the words “the land of the free and the home of the brave” in 1814, he did so in a poem called “The Defense of Fort McHenry.” The battle of Fort McHenry in Baltimore was a decisive one in which Americans truly demonstrated bravery and fought for freedom.
This was the War of 1812, the origins of which are lost to history. The British government claimed that President James Madison had designs on the British king’s lands in Canada, and so it attacked the U.S. The Americans argued that the British government’s stated reason for its attack was a pretense, as its real goal was to re-capture what many Britons still considered to be their colonies.
They thought this even though the Treaty of Paris, signed by the United States and Great Britain in 1783, unambiguously recognized the United States of America as a free, independent and sovereign nation.
Notwithstanding its origins, the War of 1812 brought Americans perilously close to being British subjects again. Both the U.S. Capitol and the White House were burned and severely damaged, with President and Mrs. Madison narrowly escaping. Fort McHenry and Ba... Scott S. Sheads Best Price: $4.97 Buy New $11.97 (as of 04:00 UTC - Details)
After the British tired of the war and went home, Key’s poem was set to the tune of a drinking song, popular among British soldiers and sailors. It was re-named “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and it became a popular patriotic piece meant to commemorate American freedom and the bravery of those who fought to preserve it. A century later, it became our national anthem.
The phrase “the land of the free and the home of the brave” is as American as any one-liner in our history. Could it be we have repeated it so often that we have lost sight of its meaning? Is the United States today the land of the free and the home of the brave?
This is a painful question to ask and answer in these trying times. The government has persuaded nearly all of us, with its selective employment of scientific data, that we are suffering from an unavoidable viral pandemic that originated in China.
It probably did originate there, but the Trump administration declined to take it seriously for nearly three months. Drop by drop, the intelligence data is being released or leaked, and it shows an administration indifferent to the plight of folks from China traveling west, gullibly accepting the deceptions of the government of China, arrogantly self-confident that it can’t happen here, ignorant of the ease with which a virus passes among the heedless, and unwilling to grasp the dangers making their way here.
Once the virus arrived here — like a tidal wave — the government’s response has been to treat the freedoms for which brave men and women have fought and died as if they are not the inalienable personal rights Madison and Thomas Jefferson and all the founders and framers and the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution called them but rather privileges subject to government permission slips.
The Constitution openly and directly prohibits all governments from interfering with personal liberties like speech, press, travel, assembly, religion and commercial intercourse. And it prescribes the means for the government to follow if it can show that the freedom of some — like a bank robber — needs to be curtailed.
A bank robber gets a fair jury trial before losing his basic freedoms. Today, the government threatens and punishes us without trial for exercising basic freedoms.
And all this do-as-I-say-today-or-face-newly-crafted-government-punishment nonsense, which is enforced by reluctant police who would rather chase a bank robber than a jogger in a government-owned park, is not the result of legislation enacted after a broad national debate, nor is it authorized in the Constitution. Rather, we have been silenced and immobilized and humiliated by the commands of 50 state governors — some more in-your-face than others — all profoundly offensive to the personal freedoms that the Constitution purports to guarantee.
Is the United States today the land of the free and the home of the brave? The War of 1812: A For... Hickey, Donald R Best Price: $11.76 Buy New $16.95 (as of 04:00 UTC - Details)
To ask that question is to answer it. We have little freedom remaining because of our timidity. Most folks are content with an overbearing government acting as if we work for it and trampling our liberty in the name of public safety.
History shows that it takes a determined minority to seek and to preserve freedom. Harvard Professor Bernard Bailyn, the country’s foremost scholar on the colonists at the eve of Revolution, has concluded that barely one-third of them favored violent secession from Britain.
Today, polls show a smaller percentage of present-day Americans as outraged at the loss of freedom as were those prepared to fight the Revolution against the king.
Is the United States today the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Let’s answer rationally, not emotionally. We have lost liberty without a shot being fired because most Americans prefer the comfort of safety to the battles for liberty. We have allowed elected officials to do to us what our forebears shed blood in wartime to prevent foreign governments from doing to us.
All elected state governors in power today have nullified the freedom-protecting clauses of the Constitution. If those clauses can be nullified, then of what value are they? By supinely accepting all this, today we are neither free nor brave. Today, we are the land of the fearful and the home of the confined.
Does the government work for us, or do we work for the government?
Reprinted with the author’s permission.
The Best of Andrew P. Napolitano


lewrockwell--2020-04-30--COVID: Two Vital Experiments That Have Never Been Done

I ’ m republishing this article , because more people are becoming aware there is something wrong—very wrong—with the “ science ” at the bottom of this fake epidemic .
For example , Dr. Thomas Cowan , in his recent popular video , described my proposal for a true procedure that would determine whether a new virus actually exists .
If he contacts me , I have more ammunition for him .
The claim of having discovered a new virus ( COVID-19 ) is wrong ( unproven ) .
And the claim that the main diagnostic test ( the PCR @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sick or is going to get sick is also wrong ( unproven ) .
What seems to be true in the lab is not sufficient in the real world .
Dancing Naked in the M ... Mullis , Kary Best Price : $ 6.83 The first experiment would confirm or deny the accuracy of the PCR diagnostic test .
The experiment would reveal whether this widespread test for COVID-19 can actually predict illness in the real world , in humans , not in the lab .
This experiment has never been done .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ PCR was ever permitted to make claims about THE QUANTIY OF VIRUS that is replicating in a patient ’ s body .
Quantity is vital , because , in order to even begin talking about whether a virus can cause disease , millions and millions of virus must be actively replicating in a patient ’ s body .
Here is the experiment .
Assemble a group of 500 volunteers , some sick , some healthy .
Take tissue samples from them , and give the samples to PCR technicians .
The technicians will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ volunteers are .
The techs run these samples through the PCR .
For each sample , they report which virus they found , and how much of it they found .
“ In patients 34 , 57 , 83 , 165 , and 433 , we found a great deal of the following disease-causing viruses.
” Vaccine Epidemic : How ... Best Price : $ 7.50 Buy New $ 12.99 Now we un-blind those specific patients .
By the test results , they should all be sick .
Are they ?
Aren ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We would know how accurate and relevant the test is in the real world .
Of course , this is not the end of the experiment .
The same samples should have been given to a whole other set of PCR techs to run .
Did they come up with the same results the first set of PR techs did ?
Several new groups of 500 patients each should be enlisted , and still more sets of lab techs should repeat the experiment , ending up with confirmation or rejection of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the scientific method is supposed to work .
In the absence of this experiment , the quantitative PCR must be looked at as a rogue hypothesis that should never have been foisted on the public in the first place .
It should never be used as the basis for determining case numbers of any disease .
In the “ COVID-19 crisis , ” all case numbers derived from the PCR should be thrown out .
Master Manipulator : Th ... James Ottar Grundvig Best Price : $ 14.15 Buy New $ 17.78 The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new virus—in this case , COVID-19 .
First of all , there is no lab procedure that can climb inside the human body in real time and record the active replication of millions of virus .
The closest you can come involves the use of electron microscopy .
Suspecting the existence of a new disease-causing virus , researchers should line up , at the very least , several hundred people who seem to have the new disease .
Tissue samples should be taken from them .
Using correct steps of isolating-purifying-centrifuging these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be examined and photographed under the electron microscope .
In every one of the several hundred photos , do the researchers see many identical particles of a virus they ’ ve never seen before ; and do the researchers see that these many particles are the same from photo to photo ?
If so , and if more than one group of researchers independently carrying out this procedure on the patients ’ tissue samples achieves the same result…then , this is as close as you can come to saying you ’ ve discovered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with other large groups of patients should attempt to replicate the above findings .
This vital experiment has never been done in the case of COVID-19 .
Not even close .
Therefore , researchers can ’ t make a true claim to have discovered a new disease-causing virus .
Vaccines : A Reappraisal Richard Moskowitz M.D .
Best Price : $ 17.92 Buy New $ 13.66 In the absence of the two vital experiments I ’ ve described in this article , all you ’ re left with , concerning a single “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cause , are : anecdote , rumor , gossip , conjecture , speculation , bad science , and lies .
Plus the horrendous damage from all the consequences of lockdowns based on those lies .
It ’ s essential to realize where the burden of proof rests .
The scientists who claim to have discovered a new epidemic virus , and the scientists who claim their PCR can determine whether a person is sick or is going to get sick—THEY are making the assertions .
THEY have to supply the proof .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus , and the virus could be killing lots of people… ” People saying this are caught in the trap , the COULD-BE trap .
Yes , it could be a purple cow giving birth to a calf on Mars , who is then flown to China , where it infects seven bats in a dark alley in Wuhan , after which several people eat the bats… If COULD-BE were science , the planet would remain locked down until there were no humans left .
The Best of Jon Rappoport

I’m republishing this article, because more people are becoming aware there is something wrong—very wrong—with the “science” at the bottom of this fake epidemic.
For example, Dr. Thomas Cowan, in his recent popular video, described my proposal for a true procedure that would determine whether a new virus actually exists. If he contacts me, I have more ammunition for him.
All right, let’s jump in—
The claim of having discovered a new virus (COVID-19) is wrong (unproven).
And the claim that the main diagnostic test (the PCR) can determine whether a person is sick or is going to get sick is also wrong (unproven).
What seems to be true in the lab is not sufficient in the real world. Dancing Naked in the M... Mullis, Kary Best Price: $6.83 (as of 04:03 UTC - Details)
The first experiment would confirm or deny the accuracy of the PCR diagnostic test. The experiment would reveal whether this widespread test for COVID-19 can actually predict illness in the real world, in humans, not in the lab.
This experiment has never been done. It should have been done before the PCR was ever permitted to make claims about THE QUANTIY OF VIRUS that is replicating in a patient’s body.
Quantity is vital, because, in order to even begin talking about whether a virus can cause disease, millions and millions of virus must be actively replicating in a patient’s body.
Here is the experiment. Assemble a group of 500 volunteers, some sick, some healthy. Take tissue samples from them, and give the samples to PCR technicians. The technicians will never see or know who the 500 volunteers are.
The techs run these samples through the PCR. For each sample, they report which virus they found, and how much of it they found.
“In patients 34, 57, 83, 165, and 433, we found a great deal of the following disease-causing viruses.” Vaccine Epidemic: How ... Best Price: $7.50 Buy New $12.99 (as of 06:30 UTC - Details)
Now we un-blind those specific patients. By the test results, they should all be sick. Are they? Aren’t they? Then we would know. We would know how accurate and relevant the test is in the real world.
Of course, this is not the end of the experiment. The same samples should have been given to a whole other set of PCR techs to run. Did they come up with the same results the first set of PR techs did?
Several new groups of 500 patients each should be enlisted, and still more sets of lab techs should repeat the experiment, ending up with confirmation or rejection of the initial findings. This is the way the scientific method is supposed to work.
In the absence of this experiment, the quantitative PCR must be looked at as a rogue hypothesis that should never have been foisted on the public in the first place. It should never be used as the basis for determining case numbers of any disease.
In the “COVID-19 crisis,” all case numbers derived from the PCR should be thrown out. Master Manipulator: Th... James Ottar Grundvig Best Price: $14.15 Buy New $17.78 (as of 05:25 UTC - Details)
The second vital experiment concerns the discovery of a new virus—in this case, COVID-19.
First of all, there is no lab procedure that can climb inside the human body in real time and record the active replication of millions of virus. The closest you can come involves the use of electron microscopy.
Suspecting the existence of a new disease-causing virus, researchers should line up, at the very least, several hundred people who seem to have the new disease. Tissue samples should be taken from them. Using correct steps of isolating-purifying-centrifuging these samples, specimens of the results should be examined and photographed under the electron microscope.
In every one of the several hundred photos, do the researchers see many identical particles of a virus they’ve never seen before; and do the researchers see that these many particles are the same from photo to photo?
If so, and if more than one group of researchers independently carrying out this procedure on the patients’ tissue samples achieves the same result…then, this is as close as you can come to saying you’ve discovered a new disease-causing virus.
Other researchers with other large groups of patients should attempt to replicate the above findings.
This vital experiment has never been done in the case of COVID-19. Not even close. Therefore, researchers can’t make a true claim to have discovered a new disease-causing virus. Vaccines: A Reappraisal Richard Moskowitz M.D. Best Price: $17.92 Buy New $13.66 (as of 01:00 UTC - Details)
In the absence of the two vital experiments I’ve described in this article, all you’re left with, concerning a single “COVID-19” pandemic and a single new cause, are: anecdote, rumor, gossip, conjecture, speculation, bad science, and lies.
Plus the horrendous damage from all the consequences of lockdowns based on those lies.
It’s essential to realize where the burden of proof rests. The scientists who claim to have discovered a new epidemic virus, and the scientists who claim their PCR can determine whether a person is sick or is going to get sick—THEY are making the assertions. THEY have to supply the proof.
“Oh, but it could be a virus, and the virus could be killing lots of people…” People saying this are caught in the trap, the COULD-BE trap. Yes, it could be a purple cow giving birth to a calf on Mars, who is then flown to China, where it infects seven bats in a dark alley in Wuhan, after which several people eat the bats…
If COULD-BE were science, the planet would remain locked down until there were no humans left.
Reprinted with permission from Jon Rappoport’s blog.
The Best of Jon Rappoport


lewrockwell--2020-04-30--‘Don’t Trace Me, Bro’ — Just Say No to Contact Tracing

Contact Tracing ?
Really ?
That ’ s the next big government program to push for total surveillance over our lives .
Now the real fallout from the Coronapocalypse comes to light .
The very people who created a fake pandemic out of faulty statistics , media fear-pimping and the rankest of propaganda are now pushing the total surveillance state to protect us ( them ? )
from the next crisis .
James Corbett from the Corbett Report just published an excellent video discussing ‘ contact tracing ’ as promulgated by ( who else ? )
the Clinton Global Initiative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Shirts to assist our wise and benevolent leaders in managing us like livestock .
James is urging us not to use their Orwellian term , and I agree with him .
But the best way to do that is to make fun of it and them .
I propose just looking at them and saying , “ Don ’ t Trace Me , Bro.
” Blind Trust in Doctors ... Mason , Howard Buy New $ 12.99 As always when they want to herd us towards a terrible idea they first have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for it .
Either that or just call it a war that we ’ re going to fight and win together , you know , for kids !
But this was always the plan with this virus .
We can speculate as to why this has been done , why it was directed from the commanding heights of our society but , in the end , that speculation is irrelevant .
This is happening , it ’ s here and they are now working to square the circle .
The goal is to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and individuality started with the destruction of financial privacy during the Clinton Adminstration , which was wrapped in the classic government phrases “ Know Your Customer ” and “ Anti-Money Laundering ” Now those sets of rules which got ramped up after 9/11 dominate the global financial landscape .
But , let ’ s look at what ’ s happened with COVID-19 step-by-step .
First , a virus shows up in China which people in the highest levels of our government were briefed about as early as November , if Pepe Escobar ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Next China , the gold standard for the Orwellian Panopticon , proceeds to use that Panopticon to prove to the world how effective government can be in containing a deadly plague .
That model , which runs fundamentally counter to billions of years of evolution and basid immunology , is then propagated around the Western world to combat COVID-19 , a disease which has a mortality rate similar to the annual flu , to shut down those economies exacerbating a financial crisis already fully underway .
This destroys the lives of hundreds of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dislocations that make the Great Depression look like a mild recession .
In places like Italy , France and Spain where youth unemployment has been in double digits for more than a decade , the lock down was used as a way to tamp down social unrest , as they were hot beds for opposition to inept and increasingly fascistic governments .
Good-Bye Germ Theory : ... Trebing , Dr. William P Best Price : $ 36.69 Buy New $ 14.00 In the U.S. , a country ruled by old , ideologically-possessed and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heightened state of fear since Donald Trump was elected saw the opportunity to create the worst possible outcome in places like New York and California .
Governors in blue states seized power they didn ’ t legally have and cried for help they didn ’ t need .
And the confusion and disinformation about the virus created so much fear people willingly huddled in their homes hoping the angel of death passed them by with nothing more to do than be glued to the death counter in a desperate bid to stay informed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t two million dead in the U.S.
There ’ s around 50,000 and those death statistics are very speicous since the people reporting them have motive , means and opportunity to inflate them to get Federal aid , advance their political agendas now on full display and cover their asses .
So , now ‘ contact tracing ’ which is just a euphemism for total surveillance .
But they are admitting that they can ’ t do it themselves .
They need help .
In totalitarian governments like the U.K. , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ couple of weeks .
Battlefield America : T ... John W. Whitehead Best Price : $ 10.95 Buy New $ 18.80 China already has this .
All across the enlightened West countries will now recruit tens of thousands of ‘ contact tracers ’ to go out and build their network for them , just like Gavin Newsome and Andrew Cuomo discussed with Bill Clinton in the video linked above .
And since there are now tens of millions of people out of work desperate for a job of any sort finding recruits will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
First you destroy people ’ s lives , then you print trillions in funny money to bail out the inept and continue paying the enforcers , ensuring they are fed .
And then when desperation reaches its peak you create a new government program and turn people into snitches to ensure compliance .
We ’ re going to empower the worst busybodies who are already insane with fear to run around collecting data for the government .
All in the name of getting the economy back up and running !
I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Scarlet Letter in high school we didn ’ t consider Hester Prynne to be the bad guy .
Because the person who is COVID-19 positive will now have a big red “ CV ” on them which will limit their ability to partake in society .
The next stage will be to force them to lock themselves down in isolation or face the depredations of the State .
And even if we begin to ignore such insanity the next step will be to look the other way when the contact tracers become belligerent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a heightened state of fear at all times .
The Karens will bee worried about a stupid germ and everyone else will be worried about what the Karens will do .
Because what good is this app if it doesn ’ t report you to the authorities who know where you are .
So the solution to a virus and the incompetence of our governments is to turn busy bodies into brown shirts and COVID positives into social pariahs .
Dissolving Illusions : ... Bystrianyk , Roman Best Price : $ 38.50 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what happens when you don ’ t pay a parking ticket now ?
Eventually your licence gets suspended , then your car insurance gets canceled .
If you don ’ t turn your tag in for not having insurance then you are risking jail time when you get stopped by the police .
They arrest you for driving on a suspended licence , impound your car , and the entire ordeal becomes a bureaucratic nightmare .
The moral of the story ?
Pay your parking ticket , obviously .
But not because you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heinous crime .
But because you broke the rules .
If you don ’ t follow the State ’ s rules , no matter how petty , no matter how asinine you will be punished to the full extent of the law .
Do you really think this ‘ contact tracing ’ system won ’ t end up in the same kind of hell ?
Now you ’ re a documented threat to other people ’ s lives !
You ’ re an evil spreader , man !
Think of the children !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ things .
Killing people and creating perverse incentives .
And if this isn ’ t a classic case of creating the perverse incentive of destroying civilization in order to save it I don ’ t know what is ?
This is the real danger of 5G technology .
It isn ’ t China having a backdoor embedded by Huawei , it is the State having the ability to blanket the world in high bandwidth snooping devices everywhere that people congregate .
Their system is failing before our eyes .
It ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ greater institutional corruption .
They wouldn ’ t be pushing for this total surveillance if they weren ’ t uniquely paranoid about our readiness to throw them overboard .
They want us snitching on each other and suspect of each other .
This is the most pernicious form of social control ever devised , to distrust basic human contact and interaction because there are germs in the world .
It ’ s time to end the mass hallucination that we ’ ve never dealt with something like this before .
The mass branding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ laughable and the push for global surveillance is pathetic .
Unfortunately , we live in a world today where the fearful are empowered by the powerful to mob the non-compliant .
COVID-19 isn ’ t the plague folks .
If you think it ’ s the crisis you should be fearful of I urge you to seek therapy not the false security of a government tracking app .
The Best of Thomas Luongo

Contact Tracing? Really? That’s the next big government program to push for total surveillance over our lives. Now the real fallout from the Coronapocalypse comes to light.
The very people who created a fake pandemic out of faulty statistics, media fear-pimping and the rankest of propaganda are now pushing the total surveillance state to protect us (them?) from the next crisis.
James Corbett from the Corbett Report just published an excellent video discussing ‘contact tracing’ as promulgated by (who else?) the Clinton Global Initiative to create an army of new Brown Shirts to assist our wise and benevolent leaders in managing us like livestock.

James is urging us not to use their Orwellian term, and I agree with him. But the best way to do that is to make fun of it and them.
I propose just looking at them and saying, “Don’t Trace Me, Bro.” Blind Trust in Doctors... Mason, Howard Buy New $12.99 (as of 02:43 UTC - Details)
As always when they want to herd us towards a terrible idea they first have to come up with a harmless sounding euphemism for it. Either that or just call it a war that we’re going to fight and win together, you know, for kids!
But this was always the plan with this virus. We can speculate as to why this has been done, why it was directed from the commanding heights of our society but, in the end, that speculation is irrelevant.
This is happening, it’s here and they are now working to square the circle. The goal is to finish off the last vestiges of anonymity and individuality started with the destruction of financial privacy during the Clinton Adminstration, which was wrapped in the classic government phrases “Know Your Customer” and “Anti-Money Laundering”
Now those sets of rules which got ramped up after 9/11 dominate the global financial landscape.
But, let’s look at what’s happened with COVID-19 step-by-step.
First, a virus shows up in China which people in the highest levels of our government were briefed about as early as November, if Pepe Escobar’s research is to be believed.
The gold standard remains the ABC News report according to which intel collected in November 2019 by the National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI), a subsidiary of the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), was already warning about a new virulent contagion getting out of hand in Wuhan, based on “detailed analysis of intercepted communications and satellite imagery”. An unnamed source told ABC, “analysts concluded it could be a cataclysmic event”, adding the intel was “briefed multiple times” to the DIA, the Pentagon’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, and even the White House.
Next China, the gold standard for the Orwellian Panopticon, proceeds to use that Panopticon to prove to the world how effective government can be in containing a deadly plague.
That model, which runs fundamentally counter to billions of years of evolution and basid immunology, is then propagated around the Western world to combat COVID-19, a disease which has a mortality rate similar to the annual flu, to shut down those economies exacerbating a financial crisis already fully underway.
This destroys the lives of hundreds of millions of people. It creates economic dislocations that make the Great Depression look like a mild recession.
In places like Italy, France and Spain where youth unemployment has been in double digits for more than a decade, the lock down was used as a way to tamp down social unrest, as they were hot beds for opposition to inept and increasingly fascistic governments. Good-Bye Germ Theory: ... Trebing, Dr. William P Best Price: $36.69 Buy New $14.00 (as of 04:04 UTC - Details)
In the U.S., a country ruled by old, ideologically-possessed and corrupt Boomers who have been in a heightened state of fear since Donald Trump was elected saw the opportunity to create the worst possible outcome in places like New York and California.
Governors in blue states seized power they didn’t legally have and cried for help they didn’t need.
And the confusion and disinformation about the virus created so much fear people willingly huddled in their homes hoping the angel of death passed them by with nothing more to do than be glued to the death counter in a desperate bid to stay informed about the science.
But there weren’t two million dead in the U.S. There’s around 50,000 and those death statistics are very speicous since the people reporting them have motive, means and opportunity to inflate them to get Federal aid, advance their political agendas now on full display and cover their asses.
So, now ‘contact tracing’ which is just a euphemism for total surveillance. But they are admitting that they can’t do it themselves. They need help. In totalitarian governments like the U.K., they’ll have an app in a couple of weeks.
Matthew Gould also disclosed plans to log the location of whenever two or more people are in close proximity for minutes at a time. That will disturb privacy campaigners.
Ya think?
Mr Gould told the Science and Technology Committee the app would be “technically ready” for deployment in “two to three weeks” – but made it clear it was only one part of the strategy to emerge from lockdown and would involve a none-too-subtle marketing campaign. “If you want to protect the NHS and stop it being overwhelmed and, at the same time, want to get the economy moving, then the app is going to be part of an essential part of a strategy for doing that,” he said.
Battlefield America: T... John W. Whitehead Best Price: $10.95 Buy New $18.80 (as of 10:15 UTC - Details) China already has this. All across the enlightened West countries will now recruit tens of thousands of ‘contact tracers’ to go out and build their network for them, just like Gavin Newsome and Andrew Cuomo discussed with Bill Clinton in the video linked above.
And since there are now tens of millions of people out of work desperate for a job of any sort finding recruits will be easy.
See how this works?
First you destroy people’s lives, then you print trillions in funny money to bail out the inept and continue paying the enforcers, ensuring they are fed. And then when desperation reaches its peak you create a new government program and turn people into snitches to ensure compliance.
We’re going to empower the worst busybodies who are already insane with fear to run around collecting data for the government.
All in the name of getting the economy back up and running!
I’m pretty sure when I read The Scarlet Letter in high school we didn’t consider Hester Prynne to be the bad guy. Because the person who is COVID-19 positive will now have a big red “CV” on them which will limit their ability to partake in society.
The next stage will be to force them to lock themselves down in isolation or face the depredations of the State. And even if we begin to ignore such insanity the next step will be to look the other way when the contact tracers become belligerent.
This is all about keeping everyone in a heightened state of fear at all times. The Karens will bee worried about a stupid germ and everyone else will be worried about what the Karens will do.
Because what good is this app if it doesn’t report you to the authorities who know where you are.
So the solution to a virus and the incompetence of our governments is to turn busy bodies into brown shirts and COVID positives into social pariahs. Dissolving Illusions: ... Bystrianyk, Roman Best Price: $38.50 Buy New $21.60 (as of 11:00 UTC - Details)
Do you realize what happens when you don’t pay a parking ticket now? Eventually your licence gets suspended, then your car insurance gets canceled. If you don’t turn your tag in for not having insurance then you are risking jail time when you get stopped by the police. They arrest you for driving on a suspended licence, impound your car, and the entire ordeal becomes a bureaucratic nightmare.
The moral of the story? Pay your parking ticket, obviously.
But not because you were a bad person or committed a heinous crime. But because you broke the rules. If you don’t follow the State’s rules, no matter how petty, no matter how asinine you will be punished to the full extent of the law.
Do you really think this ‘contact tracing’ system won’t end up in the same kind of hell?
Now you’re a documented threat to other people’s lives! You’re an evil spreader, man! Think of the children!
The State is only good at two things. Killing people and creating perverse incentives. And if this isn’t a classic case of creating the perverse incentive of destroying civilization in order to save it I don’t know what is?
This is the real danger of 5G technology. It isn’t China having a backdoor embedded by Huawei, it is the State having the ability to blanket the world in high bandwidth snooping devices everywhere that people congregate.
Their system is failing before our eyes. It’s a system born of corrupt money begetting ever greater institutional corruption. They wouldn’t be pushing for this total surveillance if they weren’t uniquely paranoid about our readiness to throw them overboard.
They want us snitching on each other and suspect of each other. This is the most pernicious form of social control ever devised, to distrust basic human contact and interaction because there are germs in the world.
It’s time to end the mass hallucination that we’ve never dealt with something like this before. The mass branding of this COVID-19 as the plague is laughable and the push for global surveillance is pathetic.
Unfortunately, we live in a world today where the fearful are empowered by the powerful to mob the non-compliant. COVID-19 isn’t the plague folks. If you think it’s the crisis you should be fearful of I urge you to seek therapy not the false security of a government tracking app.
Reprinted with permission from Gold Goats ‘n Guns.
The Best of Tom Luongo


The Reopening Moo

Will you Moooo like a good Corona Cow when the ranchers who are “ the government ” decree that businesses may reopen provided the workers – and customers – mask up ?
The ranchers have already decreed masks mandatory in several states and – weirdly – more people seem to be wearing masks even though not yet mandated in other areas .
Which is weird given that by now it is obvious – or ought to be – that WuFlu is a much greater threat to our liberty than our health .
Except for a few concentrated areas of population @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York , where Rancher Cuomo ordered oldsters with WuFlu to be housed with other oldsters in nursing homes , assuring lots of oldsters would die from WuFlu – the number of people who ’ ve died from WuFlu is so low it would have gone unnoticed in normal times .
ESSENTIAL Car Auto Ins ... Buy New $ 4.29 In Virginia , for instance , fewer than 500 over the past four months .
This in a state with a population of nearly nine million people .
The hospitals in Virginia and many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for customers .
They are going broke from lack of patients – and billing .
See , for example , this plea to Rancher Coonman from the Virginia Hospital and Health Care Association , which speaks for 125,000 people employed by Virginia hospitals .
They beg the Coonman to allow – such servile , despicable verbiage – hospitals to resume treating other than the Corona ’ d , of which there are far too few .
Beds are empty ; thousands of surplus respirators collecting dust – while people without Corona wait to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and so on , which have been put on indefinite hold by the Coonman .
A thoughtful brain might ask : If the hospitals aren ’ t “ overwhelmed ” with the Corona ’ d – as was promised in the direst manner imaginable by the Coonman and the “ experts , ” including the Billy Kristol of epidemiology , Dr. Fauci – then why are more people joining the masked herd ?
People not wearing masks a month ago are now wearing them – even though they haven ’ t yet been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Puff ’ n ... Best Price : $ 14.16 Buy New $ 19.99 In part , because more and more businesses appear to be anticipating the order to insist on mask-wearing as a condition of being allowed to “ reopen ” – oh , thank you , massa !
– and are being “ proactive.
” They understandably do not want to go broke , though that is probably already inevitable for the majority of them .
And they intuit that “ reopening ” will be conditional on their compliance with Sickness Pantomime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ must-wear-masking .
This , in turn , applies pressure on customers to mask-wear , in order to be allowed – that vile word , again – to shop .
To get food .
This is how the ranchers are conditioning the head-bowed , mooing servility of the cattle – who after all , need to eat .
The Best of Eric Peters

Will you Moooo like a good Corona Cow when the ranchers who are “the government” decree that businesses may reopen provided the workers – and customers – mask up?
The ranchers have already decreed masks mandatory in several states and – weirdly – more people seem to be wearing masks even though not yet mandated in other areas. Which is weird given that by now it is obvious – or ought to be – that WuFlu is a much greater threat to our liberty than our health.
Except for a few concentrated areas of population – and stupidity – such as New York, where Rancher Cuomo ordered oldsters with WuFlu to be housed with other oldsters in nursing homes, assuring lots of oldsters would die from WuFlu – the number of people who’ve died from WuFlu is so low it would have gone unnoticed in normal times. ESSENTIAL Car Auto Ins... Buy New $4.29 (as of 04:06 UTC - Details)
In Virginia, for instance, fewer than 500 over the past four months. This in a state with a population of nearly nine million people. The hospitals in Virginia and many other states are dying . . . for customers. They are going broke from lack of patients – and billing. See, for example, this plea to Rancher Coonman from the Virginia Hospital and Health Care Association, which speaks for 125,000 people employed by Virginia hospitals. They beg the Coonman to allow – such servile, despicable verbiage – hospitals to resume treating other than the Corona’d, of which there are far too few.
Beds are empty; thousands of surplus respirators collecting dust – while people without Corona wait to get a date for their knee surgeries and so on, which have been put on indefinite hold by the Coonman.
A thoughtful brain might ask: If the hospitals aren’t “overwhelmed” with the Corona’d – as was promised in the direst manner imaginable by the Coonman and the “experts,” including the Billy Kristol of epidemiology, Dr. Fauci – then why are more people joining the masked herd?
People not wearing masks a month ago are now wearing them – even though they haven’t yet been ordered to wear them. High Road Puff’n... Best Price: $14.16 Buy New $19.99 (as of 04:06 UTC - Details)
Why?
In part, because more and more businesses appear to be anticipating the order to insist on mask-wearing as a condition of being allowed to “reopen” – oh, thank you, massa! – and are being “proactive.” They understandably do not want to go broke, though that is probably already inevitable for the majority of them. And they intuit that “reopening” will be conditional on their compliance with Sickness Pantomime . . . in the form of must-wear-masking.
This, in turn, applies pressure on customers to mask-wear, in order to be allowed – that vile word, again – to shop. To get food.

This is how the ranchers are conditioning the head-bowed, mooing servility of the cattle – who after all, need to eat.
Read the Whole Article
Car Insurance and Regi... Buy New $14.95 (as of 04:06 UTC - Details)
The Best of Eric Peters


lewrockwell--2020-04-30--Vitamin C For COVID-19: Critical Care Medicine Hospital Chief in Wuhan Provides Updates

Medicine in Drug Discovery , of Elsevier , a major scientific publishing house , recently published an article on early and high-dose IVC in the treatment and prevention of Covid-19 .
The article was written by Dr. Richard Cheng , MD , PhD , a US board-certified anti-aging specialist from Shanghai , China .
Dr. Cheng has been updating everyone via his YouTube channel about vitamin C treatment cases out of China for quite some time now .
The principle investigator for “ Vitamin C Infusion for the Treatment of Severe 2019-nCoV Infected Pneumonia ” ( ClinicalTrials.gov ) , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ using intravenous Vitamin C to treat COVID-19 , ZhiYong Peng , who is also a professor and the Chief of Critical Care Medicine at Zhongnan Hospital , in Wuhan , China , recently hoped on Youtube with Dr. Cheng to provide more updates .
A summary of that chat goes as follows : • High dose intravenous vitamin C seems to reduce the inflammation of COVID-19 significantly • It seems to reduce COVID-19 patients ’ ICU hospital stays • It seems to reduce the mortality rate of COVID-19 patients , although the number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Peng also mentioned that his hospital was giving Vitamin C powder to all healthcare providers and advised them to take 1-2 grams of Vitamin C powder , daily .
He also stated his believe that all of the major hospitals in Wuhan were giving Vitamin C powder to their healthcare providers .
Fire Your Doctor !
How ... Andrew Saul Best Price : $ 6.40 Buy New $ 1.99 Vitamin C treatment , or the idea that it can be successful or is being used is still being labelled as false and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also had a message for the ‘ fact checkers ’ as posted in the description one of his latest Youtube videos .
I was made aware that FB Fact Check claims “ Shanghai did not officially recommend high-dose IVC for the treatment of Covid-19 ” ( left on the above photo ) .
Let me make it clear that not only Shanghai , but also Guangzhou , Guangdong Province , another major city in China , publicly endorsed high-dose IVC for the treatment of Covid-19 .
Those who Fact Check , please be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is this information being ignored ?
Why aren ’ t we exploring this more collectively ?
If the priority was to heal and to help , would this not be the case ?
Where does government allegiance lie when it comes to our health ?
Why is the only solution possible being made out to be a vaccine ?
You can refer to Dr. Cheng ’ s YouTube Channel to watch the full interview ( s ) , which are also posted below.Or you can access the transcript of it , here .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Andrew W PH.D. Best Price : $ 24.27 Buy New $ 28.28 Antiviral Strategies a ... Vasquez , Alex Best Price : $ 24.05 Buy New $ 23.75

Medicine in Drug Discovery, of Elsevier, a major scientific publishing house, recently published an article on early and high-dose IVC in the treatment and prevention of Covid-19. The article was written by Dr. Richard Cheng, MD, PhD, a US board-certified anti-aging specialist from Shanghai, China. Dr. Cheng has been updating everyone via his YouTube channel about vitamin C treatment cases out of China for quite some time now.
The principle investigator for “Vitamin C Infusion for the Treatment of Severe 2019-nCoV Infected Pneumonia” (ClinicalTrials.gov), which is a clinical trial underway in China using intravenous Vitamin C to treat COVID-19, ZhiYong Peng, who is also a professor and the Chief of Critical Care Medicine at Zhongnan Hospital, in Wuhan, China, recently hoped on Youtube with Dr. Cheng to provide more updates. A summary of that chat goes as follows:
High dose intravenous vitamin C seems to reduce the inflammation of COVID-19 significantly
It seems to reduce COVID-19 patients’ ICU hospital stays
It seems to reduce the mortality rate of COVID-19 patients, although the number of patients may be too small
Dr. Peng also mentioned that his hospital was giving Vitamin C powder to all healthcare providers and advised them to take 1-2 grams of Vitamin C powder, daily. He also stated his believe that all of the major hospitals in Wuhan were giving Vitamin C powder to their healthcare providers.
Fire Your Doctor! How ... Andrew Saul Best Price: $6.40 Buy New $1.99 (as of 11:00 UTC - Details) Vitamin C treatment, or the idea that it can be successful or is being used is still being labelled as false and misleading by ‘fact checkers.’ Cheng also had a message for the ‘fact checkers’ as posted in the description one of his latest Youtube videos.
I was made aware that FB Fact Check claims “Shanghai did not officially recommend high-dose IVC for the treatment of Covid-19” (left on the above photo). Let me make it clear that not only Shanghai, but also Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, another major city in China, publicly endorsed high-dose IVC for the treatment of Covid-19. Those who Fact Check, please be more careful.
Ask yourself, why is this information being ignored? Why aren’t we exploring this more collectively? If the priority was to heal and to help, would this not be the case? Where does government allegiance lie when it comes to our health? Why is the only solution possible being made out to be a vaccine?
You can refer to Dr. Cheng’s YouTube Channel to watch the full interview(s), which are also posted below.Or you can access the transcript of it, here.
Guest: Dr. Zhiyong Peng, Professor and Chief, Critical Care Medicine, Zhong Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Host. Richard Z. Cheng, M.D., Ph.D.
Co-Host: Hong Zhang, Ph.D.
Transcript: Thanks to Patrick Holford, Ph.D., London, United Kingdom

Reprinted with permission from Collective Evolution.
Doctor Yourself: Natur... Saul, Andrew W PH.D. Best Price: $24.27 Buy New $28.28 (as of 03:19 UTC - Details) Antiviral Strategies a... Vasquez, Alex Best Price: $24.05 Buy New $23.75 (as of 11:07 UTC - Details)


lewrockwell--2020-04-30--Remember the Hong Kong Flu?

Remember the Hong Kong Flu?

An I ’ m-so-cute-and-clever reporter recently asked the president if he deserved to be re-elected given the number of deaths from coronavirus , noting that the number is greater than American fatalities from the Vietnam war .
People can always find something as a point of comparison as if that automatically adds weight to what they are implying .
No doubt this reporter thought stats from the Vietnam war added gravitas to her query .
In any case , her disrespectful and rude question didn ’ t deserve to be dignified with an answer .
But Trump answered her anyway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use the opportunity to his advantage by giving her a little history lesson , as discussed at The Daily Wire : …She may have been unaware that at the height of the Vietnam war , there was something that killed more Americans than the war did , and it was a similar virus — and no one questioned whether a president should be elected or not because of the virus , known as the Hong Kong Flu .
30 Day Journal & Track ...
Formation , Health Buy New $ 12.75 In 1968-69 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world ; it wound up killing more than one million people worldwide , over 100,000 of them in the United States .
No lockdowns were imposed and people still went to work , albeit lessening bus travel and implementing social distancing and more washing of their hands .
The Wall Street Journal explained .
“ The novel virus triggered a state of emergency in New York City ; caused so many deaths in Berlin that corpses were stored in subway tunnels ; overwhelmed London ’ s hospitals ; and in some areas of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” As John Fund notes in National Review , the Hong Kong Flu “ was an especially infectious virus that had the ability to mutate and render existing vaccines ineffective … Hundreds of thousands were hospitalized in the U.S. as the disease hit all 50 states by Christmas 1968 .
Like COVID-19 , it was fatal primarily to people older than 65 with preexisting conditions.
” The Encyclopedia Britannica pointed out the highly contagious nature of the disease : “ Indeed , within two weeks of its emergence in July in Hong Kong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been reported … The 1968 flu pandemic caused illness of varying degrees of severity in different populations .
For example , whereas illness was diffuse and affected only small numbers of people in Japan , it was widespread and deadly in the United States .
”

An I’m-so-cute-and-clever reporter recently asked the president if he deserved to be re-elected given the number of deaths from coronavirus, noting that the number is greater than American fatalities from the Vietnam war.
People can always find something as a point of comparison as if that automatically adds weight to what they are implying. No doubt this reporter thought stats from the Vietnam war added gravitas to her query.
In any case, her disrespectful and rude question didn’t deserve to be dignified with an answer. But Trump answered her anyway. Unfortunately, he didn’t use the opportunity to his advantage by giving her a little history lesson, as discussed at The Daily Wire:
…She may have been unaware that at the height of the Vietnam war, there was something that killed more Americans than the war did, and it was a similar virus — and no one questioned whether a president should be elected or not because of the virus, known as the Hong Kong Flu. 30 Day Journal & Track... Formation, Health Buy New $12.75 (as of 04:08 UTC - Details) In 1968-69, the Hong Kong flu ravaged the world; it wound up killing more than one million people worldwide, over 100,000 of them in the United States. No lockdowns were imposed and people still went to work, albeit lessening bus travel and implementing social distancing and more washing of their hands. The Wall Street Journal explained. “The novel virus triggered a state of emergency in New York City; caused so many deaths in Berlin that corpses were stored in subway tunnels; overwhelmed London’s hospitals; and in some areas of France left half of the workforce bedridden.” As John Fund notes in National Review, the Hong Kong Flu “was an especially infectious virus that had the ability to mutate and render existing vaccines ineffective … Hundreds of thousands were hospitalized in the U.S. as the disease hit all 50 states by Christmas 1968. Like COVID-19, it was fatal primarily to people older than 65 with preexisting conditions.” The Encyclopedia Britannica pointed out the highly contagious nature of the disease: “Indeed, within two weeks of its emergence in July in Hong Kong, some 500,000 cases of illness had been reported … The 1968 flu pandemic caused illness of varying degrees of severity in different populations. For example, whereas illness was diffuse and affected only small numbers of people in Japan, it was widespread and deadly in the United States.”
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-04-30--Here’s What the Government Should Really Do in the Greater Depression

It ’ s hard to have a conversation today , or even overhear one , without being exposed to moronic – and I now use that word in its colloquial as well as its clinical sense – opinions about what “ we ” should do .
“ We , ” of course , is the government .
Everyone believes it should “ Do Something ” .
And it is .
But why deal in half-measures ?
Why only send everybody a check for $ 1200 ?
Why not buy everyone a new Cadillac to get Detroit back to work , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and a $ 10,000 check that must be deposited at a failing bank and then spent at Victoria ’ s Secret .
A plan like that certainly sounds like more fun than what I ’ m going to propose .
Especially since Americans are going to be a bit short on fun over the next little while .
America ’ s Great ... Rothbard , Murray N. Best Price : $ 15.32 Buy New $ 9.74 They used it all up over the last generation .
I ’ ve explained elsewhere why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Depression .
That ’ s a done deal .
But here is what needs to happen if the depression is to be as brief and as therapeutic as possible .
1 .
Allow collapse of bankrupt entities—They ’ re uneconomic ( as their bankruptcy has proven ) , their managements are overpaid and are proven incompetents .
The bailout money going into them is simply wasted .
Most of the real wealth now owned by the bankrupt will still exist .
It will simply change ownership .
If you ’ ve dug yourself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out , the first thing to do is stop digging .
But that ’ s not nearly enough .
At this point , it would be a half-measure .
Perhaps only a 3-foot rope over a 12-foot gap .
If you allow the collapse of unprofitable enterprises without changing the conditions that created the problem , recovery is going to be even harder .
So… 2 .
Deregulate .
Contrary to what almost everyone thinks , the main purpose of regulation is not to protect consumers but to entrench the current order .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and cheaply .
Does the Department of Agriculture really need 100,000 employees to regulate fewer than two million farms in the U.S. ?
Has the Department of Energy , created in 1977 to somehow solve a temporary crisis , done anything of value with its 110,000 employees and contractors and $ 32 billion annual budget ?
How about the terminally corrupt Bureau of Indian Affairs , which has outlived whatever usefulness it might have had by 100 years .
The FTC , SEC , FCC , FAA , DOT , HHS , HUD @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or no useful public purpose .
Eliminate them and the entire economy would blossom – except for the parasitical lobbying and legal trades .
There are hundreds of agencies like these .
Most aren ’ t just useless .
They ’ re actively destructive .
Surviving Fedcoin : How ... Doug Casey Best Price : $ 9.95 Buy New $ 30.00 3 .
Abolish the Fed .
This is the actual engine of inflation .
Money is just a medium of exchange and a store of value ; you don ’ t need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In fact , central banks are always just engines of inflation .
They benefit only the cronies who get their money first .
What would we use as money ?
It doesn ’ t matter , as long as it ’ s a commodity , that can ’ t be created out of thin air .
But gold is the obvious choice .
The whole idea of a central bank is a swindle .
Massive bailouts couldn ’ t and wouldn ’ t have been done without it .
4 .
Cut taxes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economy would boom .
The money won ’ t be needed with all the agencies gone .
Certainly not if the next two points are followed .
5 .
Default on the national debt .
I realize this is a shocker , unless you recall that the debt will never be paid anyway .
And why should the next several generations have to pay for the stupidity of their parents ?
A default sounds dishonorable—and it is , in civil society .
But government is different .
It hasn ’ t been “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time ; it ’ s now a self-dealing behemoth , run by cronies .
It ’ s like a building with a rotten foundation—better to bring it down with a controlled demolition , than wait for it fall unpredictably .
Governments default all the time , though most defaults are subtle , through inflation .
In an outright default , however , the only people who get hurt are those who lent money to an institution that can only repay them by stealing money from others .
They should be punished .
6 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. needs to escape prominently include the UN and NATO .
The U.S. combat troops now in over 100 foreign countries can come home .
They ’ re not “ defending ” anything , except for local collaborators , and are just picking up bad habits and antagonizing the locals .
Collusion : How Central ... Prins , Nomi Best Price : $ 7.99 Buy New $ 15.97 The U.S. spends more money on the military than most other countries in the world put together .
Since the government is bankrupt , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wars significantly adds to the economy ’ s problems .
What the Government Will Actually Do The chances of any of these things happening , however , are slim to none .
And Slim ’ s out of town .
So let ’ s look at what will actually happen .
1 .
Let enterprises collapse ?
No way .
Every corrupt and failed institution , instead of being allowed to turn into compost to be recycled by the economic worms into fertilizer for a new generation of businesses , is going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They ’ ll continue doing the same stupid things that got the country into the current mess .
The wave of collapses is going to get much worse .
Lots of banks will fail , so the FDIC will need hundreds of billions more in funding .
They ’ ll try bailing out everything—they already are .
Who knows where they ’ ll stop ?
I play poker .
Sometimes you see a player undergo a temporary psychotic break .
They ’ ll make totally irrational , wild , stupid bets in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s called “ going on tilt ” .
The U.S. government , as an enterprise , is now on tilt .
2 .
Deregulate ?
No , that ’ s out of the question .
Everyone is convinced a lack of regulation allowed the financial collapse that started in 2008 .
It must , they feel , have been a lack of oversight that allowed “ The Virus ” to invade the country .
And so , with the approval of the public , the government will set up lots of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who crawled out of the woodwork to work for the TSA—for the terror crisis of 2001– will be the model .
I just hope one of the new organizations doesn ’ t sport a black uniform with silver flashings .
Of course , the largest agency of the U.S. government is now Homeland Security , so anything is possible .
End The Fed Ron Paul Best Price : $ 2.18 Buy New $ 5.68 3 .
Abolish the Fed ?
Despite having been debauched , and turned into a veritable money-printing machine , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important than ever .
Why ?
Without it the U.S. government would only be able to borrow funds from citizens , who are tapped out .
Or foreigners , who increasingly see it as irresponsible .
And who else would buy the securities of failing corporations to support them ?
Multi-trillion-dollar deficits are now the norm , and a central bank is needed to fund them .
4 .
Cut taxes ?
No .
Taxes on the rich , or those the government decides belong in that category– people like you – are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — who is somehow painted as a free-marketer — exacerbated the last depression by raising marginal rates from 25 % to 63 % in 1932 .
With multi-trillion dollar deficits for the indefinite future , taxes will rise .
Initially , it ’ s likely to be on politically incorrect things , like tobacco , alcohol , guns , oil , coal , and luxuries… but that ’ s just be for starters .
Taxes on imports will be permanent , justified by saying it will not only generate revenue for the government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ punish undeserving foriegners .
Smoot-Hawley , the Hoover innovation that sealed the fate of the economy in the ‘ 30s , will ride again .
Along with this , we ’ ll likely see foreign exchange controls , starting with a tax on spending and investing abroad .
The rationale will be the same : it generates revenue , and keeps capital ( and jobs ) in the U.S .
Better yet , FX controls only affect the rich ( who else can afford to do things abroad ? )
, and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of doing anything abroad during a crisis like this ? )
.
6 .
Default on the national debt ?
Actually , this will happen .
But through inflation .
Which , believe it or not , is much more destructive , and less honest , than simply saying “ I can ’ t , and won ’ t , honor my obligation ” .
7 .
Disengage ?
No way .
War is the health of the state .
Like almost nothing else , it gets people to pull together .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re marching to hell ; it ’ s important to be united , they say .
The U.S. has a huge , bloated , military machine which will just rust away , if it ’ s not used , .
So of course they ’ ll use it .
It ’ s like owning a giant hammer : after a while , everything starts to look like a nail .
So the prognosis is not good .
In fact , it ’ s not just going to be bad .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think it ’ s going to be .
People have come to rely on the government as if it were a cornucopia , when it ’ s more like a cesspool .
If we moved rapidly and radically toward a free-market society , we ’ d still have a depression – the distortions and misallocations of capital are massive and would still have to be liquidated – but although the correction would be sharp , it would also be short .
Like the downturn of 1920-21 , not the one of 1929-46 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ problems are going to be over the years to come , adequate attention hasn ’ t been focused on potential social problems in the U.S. Don ’ t forget that during the last depression , there was little consumer debt ( people actually bought things using “ lay-away ” plans , if anybody remembers those ) .
Almost everybody had some savings… as opposed to a lot of debt .
People were much closer to the farm , and most actually knew how to plant a garden .
Families tended to be geographically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ function that ’ s been usurped by things like welfare , Medicaid , Medicare , Social Security , and such , which have given people a false sense of security .
Labor was much less productive , but average monthly expenses were much lower , not just in absolute but in relative terms .
If you lost your job , you went out to get another , at some wage , any wage .
Society was vastly less regulated in those days , so it was much easier .
It ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lose their jobs are going to do now , especially if they ’ re stuck in a suburb or exurb , surrounded by many thousands of others like themselves .
People in Blue counties and Red counties don ’ t like each other , blame each other , and can ’ t even have a conversation anymore .
Could the natives get restless ?
Actually , it would be a surprise if they didn ’ t .
The Best of Doug Casey

It’s hard to have a conversation today, or even overhear one, without being exposed to moronic – and I now use that word in its colloquial as well as its clinical sense – opinions about what “we” should do.
“We,” of course, is the government. Everyone believes it should “Do Something”. And it is.
But why deal in half-measures?
Why only send everybody a check for $1200? Why not buy everyone a new Cadillac to get Detroit back to work, a big new house to help builders, and a $10,000 check that must be deposited at a failing bank and then spent at Victoria’s Secret.
A plan like that certainly sounds like more fun than what I’m going to propose. Especially since Americans are going to be a bit short on fun over the next little while. America’s Great ... Rothbard, Murray N. Best Price: $15.32 Buy New $9.74 (as of 04:09 UTC - Details)
They used it all up over the last generation.
I’ve explained elsewhere why we’re embarked on the Greater Depression. That’s a done deal. But here is what needs to happen if the depression is to be as brief and as therapeutic as possible.
1. Allow collapse of bankrupt entities—They’re uneconomic (as their bankruptcy has proven), their managements are overpaid and are proven incompetents. The bailout money going into them is simply wasted. Most of the real wealth now owned by the bankrupt will still exist. It will simply change ownership.
If you’ve dug yourself into a hole and want to get out, the first thing to do is stop digging.
But that’s not nearly enough. At this point, it would be a half-measure. Perhaps only a 3-foot rope over a 12-foot gap.
If you allow the collapse of unprofitable enterprises without changing the conditions that created the problem, recovery is going to be even harder. So…
2. Deregulate. Contrary to what almost everyone thinks, the main purpose of regulation is not to protect consumers but to entrench the current order. Regulation prevents new institutions from arising quickly and cheaply.
Does the Department of Agriculture really need 100,000 employees to regulate fewer than two million farms in the U.S.?
Has the Department of Energy, created in 1977 to somehow solve a temporary crisis, done anything of value with its 110,000 employees and contractors and $32 billion annual budget?
How about the terminally corrupt Bureau of Indian Affairs, which has outlived whatever usefulness it might have had by 100 years.
The FTC, SEC, FCC, FAA, DOT, HHS, HUD, Labor, Commerce, serve little or no useful public purpose. Eliminate them and the entire economy would blossom – except for the parasitical lobbying and legal trades. There are hundreds of agencies like these. Most aren’t just useless. They’re actively destructive. Surviving Fedcoin: How... Doug Casey Best Price: $9.95 Buy New $30.00 (as of 06:55 UTC - Details)
3. Abolish the Fed. This is the actual engine of inflation. Money is just a medium of exchange and a store of value; you don’t need a central bank to have money. In fact, central banks are always just engines of inflation. They benefit only the cronies who get their money first.
What would we use as money? It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s a commodity, that can’t be created out of thin air. But gold is the obvious choice.
The whole idea of a central bank is a swindle. Massive bailouts couldn’t and wouldn’t have been done without it.
4. Cut taxes 50%… to start. The economy would boom. The money won’t be needed with all the agencies gone. Certainly not if the next two points are followed.
5. Default on the national debt. I realize this is a shocker, unless you recall that the debt will never be paid anyway. And why should the next several generations have to pay for the stupidity of their parents?
A default sounds dishonorable—and it is, in civil society. But government is different. It hasn’t been “We the People” for a long time; it’s now a self-dealing behemoth, run by cronies. It’s like a building with a rotten foundation—better to bring it down with a controlled demolition, than wait for it fall unpredictably.
Governments default all the time, though most defaults are subtle, through inflation. In an outright default, however, the only people who get hurt are those who lent money to an institution that can only repay them by stealing money from others. They should be punished.
6. Disentangle and disengage. The entanglements the U.S. needs to escape prominently include the UN and NATO. The U.S. combat troops now in over 100 foreign countries can come home. They’re not “defending” anything, except for local collaborators, and are just picking up bad habits and antagonizing the locals.
Collusion: How Central... Prins, Nomi Best Price: $7.99 Buy New $15.97 (as of 01:25 UTC - Details) The U.S. spends more money on the military than most other countries in the world put together. Since the government is bankrupt, spending on the military and its sport wars significantly adds to the economy’s problems.
What the Government Will Actually Do
The chances of any of these things happening, however, are slim to none. And Slim’s out of town.
So let’s look at what will actually happen.
1. Let enterprises collapse? No way. Every corrupt and failed institution, instead of being allowed to turn into compost to be recycled by the economic worms into fertilizer for a new generation of businesses, is going to be propped up like a zombie. They’ll continue doing the same stupid things that got the country into the current mess.
The wave of collapses is going to get much worse. Lots of banks will fail, so the FDIC will need hundreds of billions more in funding.
They’ll try bailing out everything—they already are. Who knows where they’ll stop?
I play poker. Sometimes you see a player undergo a temporary psychotic break. They’ll make totally irrational, wild, stupid bets in a desperate attempt to get out even. It’s called “going on tilt”. The U.S. government, as an enterprise, is now on tilt.
2. Deregulate? No, that’s out of the question. Everyone is convinced a lack of regulation allowed the financial collapse that started in 2008. It must, they feel, have been a lack of oversight that allowed “The Virus” to invade the country. And so, with the approval of the public, the government will set up lots of new agencies. The 70,000 degraded beings who crawled out of the woodwork to work for the TSA—for the terror crisis of 2001– will be the model.
I just hope one of the new organizations doesn’t sport a black uniform with silver flashings. Of course, the largest agency of the U.S. government is now Homeland Security, so anything is possible. End The Fed Ron Paul Best Price: $2.18 Buy New $5.68 (as of 09:55 UTC - Details)
3. Abolish the Fed? Despite having been debauched, and turned into a veritable money-printing machine, the Federal Reserve has become far more important than ever. Why? Without it the U.S. government would only be able to borrow funds from citizens, who are tapped out. Or foreigners, who increasingly see it as irresponsible. And who else would buy the securities of failing corporations to support them?
Multi-trillion-dollar deficits are now the norm, and a central bank is needed to fund them.
4. Cut taxes? No. Taxes on the rich, or those the government decides belong in that category– people like you – are going through the roof.
Herbert Hoover — who is somehow painted as a free-marketer — exacerbated the last depression by raising marginal rates from 25% to 63% in 1932. With multi-trillion dollar deficits for the indefinite future, taxes will rise.
Initially, it’s likely to be on politically incorrect things, like tobacco, alcohol, guns, oil, coal, and luxuries… but that’s just be for starters. Taxes on imports will be permanent, justified by saying it will not only generate revenue for the government, but save U.S. jobs, and punish undeserving foriegners. Smoot-Hawley, the Hoover innovation that sealed the fate of the economy in the ‘30s, will ride again.
Along with this, we’ll likely see foreign exchange controls, starting with a tax on spending and investing abroad. The rationale will be the same: it generates revenue, and keeps capital (and jobs) in the U.S. Better yet, FX controls only affect the rich (who else can afford to do things abroad?), and the unpatriotic (who else would even dream of doing anything abroad during a crisis like this?).
6. Default on the national debt? Actually, this will happen. But through inflation. Which, believe it or not, is much more destructive, and less honest, than simply saying “I can’t, and won’t, honor my obligation”.
7. Disengage? No way. War is the health of the state. Like almost nothing else, it gets people to pull together. It doesn’t matter if we’re marching to hell; it’s important to be united, they say.
The U.S. has a huge, bloated, military machine which will just rust away, if it’s not used,. So of course they’ll use it. It’s like owning a giant hammer: after a while, everything starts to look like a nail.
Good News?
So the prognosis is not good. In fact, it’s not just going to be bad. It’s going to be worse than even I think it’s going to be. People have come to rely on the government as if it were a cornucopia, when it’s more like a cesspool.
If we moved rapidly and radically toward a free-market society, we’d still have a depression – the distortions and misallocations of capital are massive and would still have to be liquidated – but although the correction would be sharp, it would also be short. Like the downturn of 1920-21, not the one of 1929-46.
As serious as the financial and economic problems are going to be over the years to come, adequate attention hasn’t been focused on potential social problems in the U.S.
Don’t forget that during the last depression, there was little consumer debt (people actually bought things using “lay-away” plans, if anybody remembers those). Almost everybody had some savings… as opposed to a lot of debt.
People were much closer to the farm, and most actually knew how to plant a garden.
Families tended to be geographically closer and more mutually supportive – a function that’s been usurped by things like welfare, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and such, which have given people a false sense of security.
Labor was much less productive, but average monthly expenses were much lower, not just in absolute but in relative terms. If you lost your job, you went out to get another, at some wage, any wage. Society was vastly less regulated in those days, so it was much easier.
It’s a good question what millions of people who lose their jobs are going to do now, especially if they’re stuck in a suburb or exurb, surrounded by many thousands of others like themselves. People in Blue counties and Red counties don’t like each other, blame each other, and can’t even have a conversation anymore. Could the natives get restless? Actually, it would be a surprise if they didn’t.
Reprinted with permission from International Man.
The Best of Doug Casey