Economic Forecaster: ‘Greatest Depression’ Coming - RawStory

[WillyT]

Economic forecaster: ‘Greatest Depression’ coming
Collapse of middle class means there's no fuel for recovery, Gerald Celente argues
By Daniel Tencer
Friday, August 20th, 2010 -- 5:42 pm

<snip>

The US economic recovery in recent quarters is little more than a "cover-up" and the world is headed for a "Greatest Depression," complete with social unrest and class warfare, says a renowned economic forecaster.

Gerald Celente, head of the Trends Research Institute, told Yahoo!News' Tech Ticker that there's no risk of a "double-dip recession" because the first "dip" never ended.

"We're saying there's no double dip, it never ended," Celente said. "We're looking at the Greatest Depression. There's no way out of this without productive capacity. You can't print out of it."

Celente, who has been credited with predicting the 1987 stock market crash, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subprime mortgage crisis of recent years, said the US and other developed countries can expect to see the sort of social unrest the world witnessed in Greece this year once government attempts to shore up the economy fail and lawmakers turn to "austerity measures" to plug gaping budget holes.

"You're going to see it all over the world," Celente said. "What they call austerity programs ... What are they doing? They're bailing out the banks and they're making the people pay for it. And the people don't like that."

<snip>

Link: http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0820/economic-forecaster-greatest-depression-coming/

:evilfrown:

And... "One of the good businesses to get in to may be guillotines," Celente quipped. "Because there's a real off-with-their-heads fever going on. People are really fed up."

:evilgrin:

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[HillbillyBob]

2. Austerity only hurts those who are in most need

nt

[Warpy]

3. Austerity hurts everybody

because people who are taking it in the neck drop their spending accordingly, even spending they have to try to beg for. That means there is less demand for goods and services all the way up the line and that means the money pump isn't working for the rich guys, either.

That's why austerity is so wrong a response to economic crises. The people who need to tighten their belts are the fat cats at the top. Gawd knows they stole enough to be able to afford it for a while. The people who create the demand need to be supported until the economy is functional again.

Austerity will kill what's left of an economy stone dead, as Europe is about to find out.

[Buns_of_Fire]

4. Guillotines? Excellent advice.

I'll start stocking some here at Pitchforks 'R' Us. They'll be in the back of the store, right next to the pre-mix hot tar and feathers. Has the name "Mr. Guillotine" been trademarked yet?:evilgrin:

[WillyT]

5. LOL !!!

:evilgrin:

:hi:

[IDemo]

10. Dibs on ChopN'Drop®

[nashville_brook]

6. i caught this story last night...i'm no fan of Celente

but, he might be right on the state of the economy.

[femrap]

7. I've felt like

The Greater (not Greatest) Depression has been here for a while now. But the uglier part is coming.

I fear that this 'just in time' Big Ag could cause BIG problems. A drought/flood can turn a recession into a depression real quick. And with Climate Change, crops will suffer. S. America has had the coldest winter ever...thousands of animals froze. Fish in rivers froze. Not a word about here from the MSM.

We desperately need manufacturing to come back in the US....but TPTB have other ideas....they want the US to be another 3rd World nation.

And what stops Depressions? Wars.

Pitchforks 'R Us....I love it!

[Hannah Bell]

16. historically, what's generally happened is the natural disaster is used to explain away the

starvation inflicted mostly by the policy choices.

[femrap]

21. I was thinking of the

Dust Bowl which was basically a greedy farmer-made disaster. They got rid of all the Plains' grasses and didn't use 'smart' farming techniques to restore the land.

And of course no rain didn't help.

[Hannah Bell]

22. .

[femrap]

28. .,:;'-......!

[Greyhound]

8. They're going to force the issue, there's no longer any doubt IMO.

And we had better get ready for it. From the bankrupt states, the shedding of the last bits of "safety net", to the Cat Food Commission their intent is clear. Never enough for the citizens, never too much for the parasites.

So, will you go quietly?

[tomp]

13. and is obama not complicit? nt

[Greyhound]

14. No doubt at all. n/t

[area51]

17. +1 n/t

[jailthecrooks]

23. Dean/Hillary 2012

[SammyWinstonJack]

24. Seems he is leading the charge while trying hard not too look like he is.

So wants too be liked by everyone. I'm trying to think who that reminds me of. :dunce:

[WillyT]

9. Kick !!!

:kick:

[lib2DaBone]

11. Kicking.... We are headed for dire times...not seen since 1930's...

The dialog should be on a national jobs program, a moratorium on Foreclosures for at least 5 years, public health care and the re-building of our manufacturing and infrastructure.

We should be trying to save our skilled work force who are fighting to keep their families in tact with what little social structure remains.

Highly skilled, highly trained workers are not a LIABILITY.. they are an ASSET! (Too long the Republican Corporate shills have been in charge and sold us out)

China is building 50,000 miles of high-speed Mag-Lev trains. They are building 1,000 Small efficient high-tech new-design nuclear power plants and they are revamping their electric grid to become state-of-the-art and self sufficient.

China now leads the U.S. as the largest user of energy in the world. They lead the world in research and development. No matter how you feel about nuclear power.. the fact remains ...that China is leaving us in their dust.

Yet not a word from our elected leaders in Washington. We are in big trouble... this winter is going to be a winter of misery. Maybe we should start learning Chinese?

[WinkyDink]

12. But we'll always have billionaires! Can we tax them now, please?

[L0oniX]

26. Can we chop off their heads now too? I wish they had that fear!

[deacon]

15. The GOP fights for it. Elect meg whitman and those of her ilk and we'll damn

well have a new great depression.

[another saigon]

18. just this once

I hope he is wrong. But I know better.

:(

-snip-

He also argued that the way unemployment is measured today masks a much larger joblessness crisis because "once you're off the unemployment rolls, you're no longer unemployed."

Celente said the current unemployment rate, if it were measured as it was measured during the Great Depression, would be around 17.5 percent. And he expects that number to rise to around 22 percent in the coming years.

[nashville_brook]

19. i'd add to this, that we're not as monolithic as we were then, and there's cultural communities

where unemployment has hovered around 25% for decades. we've just decided that "they" don't matter. they don't count. you can avoid "those" neighborhood, right?

right?


WRONG. if you want to really discuss what's been eating away at "our culture" like the 'cons like to do -- look here. a single mother of 3 holding three jobs just to survive. that's sick. or, "uniquely American."

[WillyT]

20. Yes... And I Wonder About Those Who Have Been Poor For Decades...

they've adapted, they know how to live poor... and I wonder what they are thinking about the "newly poor" these days?

Although I'm betting there is some schadenfreude out there, I'm betting that they know that adding to the numbers of the poor does nobody any good.

My friends always chide me when I give a couple of bucks and a cigarette to a homeless guy hitting me up for some change.

I remind them that I have no idea how to live under a bridge, but if that's where I end up, I might need some help figuring it out. I'm just payin it forward.

Plus... it's the right thing to do, and good Karma.

:shrug:

[Quantess]

25. So far, the most pessimistic people have come the closest to predicting accurately.

[L0oniX]

27. Professional lefties?