Voodoo Economics.

The rich seem to be getting a whole lot richer these days. According to Forbes, twenty million Americans lost their job in the pandemic. At the same time, over 700 billionaires in America saw their net worth increase by more than $1 trillion . . . and they’re now worth more than $4.6 trillion. That’s up 35% from $3.4 trillion when markets opened on January 1, 2020, just as Covid-19 was beginning to take the world by storm. Mainstreet USA workers like Jack and Diane are struggling with 50% energy inflation, 40% food inflation, and more than 20% inflation on toothpaste and toilet paper; and the party is just getting started. The kick-off party started this week with the rather spectacular implosion and fraud of the FTX cryptocurrency debacle. One million investors lost billions of dollars faster than a New York-minute. Once again. Yes, in economics, history does repeat itself.

Economics is known as the dismal science for good reason.?Many point to the birth of economics with the birth of America: In 1776, when the Scottish philosopher Adam Smith published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.?Maybe you have heard of Adam Smith’s so-called Invisible Hand of free market forces??Smith is considered to be the father of modern economics.?You might have heard about schools of economic thought over the years; Keynesian, Austrian, Chicago, Marxism, and a long list of others. In 1934, John Maynard Keynes published the famous economic work called The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes are pretty big deals in economics. Neoclassical economics believe consumers will act in their own self-interest and make rational economic decisions. The forces of supply and demand will create market equilibrium. Keynesian economics believes government intervention is required to set prices and strongly influence human decision making. At the end of the day, economics is all about scarce resources, human decision making processes, and choices. Freedom and free enterprise go like a hand in the glove.

Our $88 trillion global economy is made up of approximately 328 million tiny, small, large, and gigantic businesses and corporations – spread across almost 200 countries and all 4 corners of the globe. Our regional and national economies are as integrated and interdependent than any other time in human history. For example, Canadians and Americans are close brothers and sisters; these two economies are a couple of the largest in the world and the single largest trading relationship. The Windsor-Detroit International Bridge is the single busiest bridge in the world with economic activity; it is probably the best representation of how goods and services flow seamlessly back and forth across borders. Unless you are the Chief Economist for the Bank of Canada, or Bank of America, or one of the elites pulling the strings in London or Frankfurt, you probably invest little time or energy in understanding The Game.?That is unfortunate, because good, hardworking American workers and their families get burned time and time again. It is difficult to watch the same train wreck happen over-and-over again at the same sharp curve.

Who was held accountable for The 1929 Stock Market Crash? 1987? 1999? 2001? The 2008 housing implosion where almost 10 million Americans lost their homes and jobs? Bernie Madoff and the SEC? Hardly anyone... is the answer. Look at Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes yesterday getting only 11 years in prison; meaning she will be out in 168 days. So many investors were defrauded. Henry Kissinger, a real gem, was on her board? ?He is one guy who deserves a long prison sentence. It looks like she gets to keep her hundreds of millions gained from fraud!? Where was the SEC? Once again, Pension Funds get burned – aka firemen, teachers, and common folk working hard, playing by the rules trying to save for their kid’s college education. Pull up your chair and get your popcorn ready. This week also saw the infamous FTX cryptocurrency implosion; Mr. Smarty-Pants-MIT-grad Sam Bankman-Fried, and his band of train robbers, are now center-stage with what will become the Greatest Show on Earth in the coming weeks and months. The Ontario (Canada) Teachers Pension Fund already lost $100 million; affecting family members. This is personal now. At one point, the public will wake up and learn how the crypto-scam and their "back doors" are one nasty web of fraud; and far too many major investment companies will lose billions for people like you and me. This scam-of-the-century that will make Bernie Madoff's $64 billion Ponzi-scam look like child's play. Added to the unfolding drama, Tom Brady, Steph Curry and others are now possibly on the hook with FTX. See, history does repeat itself.

Let’s consider a Rubik’s Cube and the multiple dimensions. In America, the median net worth per household is a paltry $121K in the last year. More than 20% of Americans have zero-wealth; literally a day or two from total poverty. Compare and contrast that to the 14 million households with net assets of $1 million (not including home equity); the 1 million-plus households with net assets of $10 million; the 34,000 households with net assets of $100 million-plus; and the 750 billionaires in America. The top 10% of Americans own and control almost 80% of the total wealth in America – the greatest economic machine and wealthiest nation in the history of the world. Apparently, the Laffer Curve Theory is dead-wrong. Also known as Trickle-Down Economics. Also known as Voodoo Economics.?There sure appears to be a lot of voodoo in our economic system.?

Jack and Diane Mainstreet USA have been living in the shadows and not asking the right questions. Voodoo Economics are destroying their labor and ability to provide a future for their children. One man/woman; one vote. Yeah, right. They have a vote; but shaped by programming, and highly vulnerable and unable to decipher who are the good guys and who are the bad ones? There are so many competing and confusing ideas and messages. It is complex. And in the coming month or so the so-called Federal Reserve Bank may introduce a new digital currency, to boot. There are 12,300 digital currencies and $2 trillion that represent pure voodoo. Bitcoin represents about 40% market share in the crypto-market; it has imploded from $66,000 to $15,000 in recent months. In addition, there is nothing federal about our central bank, The Federal Reserve. Or Bank of Canada. Or Bank of England. The families and groups of people who truly own these syndicates (The Global 300; they refer to themselves as "The Olympians") and control the game are behind the scenes; they own a large number of central banks, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) in Switzerland, and other critical mechanisms. Why are global banking frameworks (Basel 1, Basel 2, etc) created by The Committee based in Basel, Switzerland? They unhooked our economy from the Gold Standard in 1971 and built up a FIAT Banking System that allows them to tax the worker, and print money at will. Americans should demand an audit of both The Federal Reserve and Fort Knox? Smoke and mirrors in economic circles. Imagine if you printed money in your basement? Look closer at the ultimate financial engineering by these global money people: The $1 quadrillion Derivatives Market. Talk about monsters hiding under the bed. Also consider so-called Circular Ownership: They own controlling shares in so many large corporations. True story. Just pick any big company and Google “Who are the largest shareholders of XYZ company?” See any commonalities or patterns? Ask more questions and connect more dots. Explore and discover. Investigate and asking piercing questions. Overcome your deeply-programmed responses to new ideas and hard-hitting questions. Remember, Noah was a Conspiracy Theorist – until it started to rain. Think and paint by numbers. A few fundamental questions to consider: The United States is a $24 trillion global-powerhouse economy; we have generated more than $200 trillion in economic activity in the last 50 years or so – yet we still have trickledown economics, 6 million homeless, broken schools and dilapidated bridges and airports, $30 trillion in national debt and more than $200 trillion in unfunded liabilities? Our $100 trillion stock and bond markets are bubbles and Ponzi schemes. Millions of American children go to bed hungry? It takes our politicians about 27 minutes to finalize and send $80 billion of our tax dollars to Ukraine, one of the major money laundering and trafficking countries in the world? Inflation is eating away your life savings, and another big market crash will inevitably once again compress your 401K. Consider the Federal Reserve (aka The Fed) printed well over $8 trillion in new money in the last 36 months; more than 50% of the money (M2) circulating in our economy is newly-printed Monopoly money. This is why we have frothy bubbles in real estate, stock markets, and so many commodities. This is one of the reasons why your 401K took a 40% haircut since last November. This will not end well.)

What game are we playing? What are the rules??Who are the rule makers??Who are the referees? Clearly the game you may think we are playing is much different than reality. Perhaps now is a good time to start asking more questions, listen to different voices, and connect a lot more dots? Take a closer look at some key economic issues and challenges. Wake up and pay attention to your future. Cognitive Dissonance and Voodoo Economics are kissing cousins. More economic reruns are about to repeat once again. You don’t need a Ph.D. in economics to ask questions, connect dots, or draw a straight line.