Resistance vs. Washington’s Silent Weapon for Not-so-Quiet Wars

Today by far the deadliest weapon of mass destruction in Washington’s arsenal lies not with the Pentagon or its traditional killing machines. It’s de facto a silent weapon: the ability of Washington to control the global supply of money, of dollars, through actions of the privately-owned Federal Reserve in coordination with the US Treasury and select Wall Street financial groups.
Developed over a period of decades since the decoupling of the dollar from gold by Nixon in August, 1971, today control of the dollar is a financial weapon that few if any rival nations are prepared to withstand, at least not yet.
Ten years ago, in September, 2008, US Treasury Secretary, former Wall Street banker Henry Paulson, deliberately pulled the plug on the global dollar system by allowing the mid-sized Wall Street investment bank, Lehman Bros go under.
At that point, with aid of the infinite money-creating resources of the Fed known as Quantitative Easing, the half-dozen top banks of Wall Street, including Paulson’s own Goldman Sachs, were rescued from a debacle their exotic securitized finance created.
The Fed also acted to give unprecedented hundreds of billions of US dollar credit lines to EU central banks to avert a dollar shortage that would clearly have brought the entire global financial architecture crashing down. At the time six Eurozone banks had dollar liabilities in excess of 100% of their country GDP.
A World Full of Dollars
Since that time a decade ago, the supply of cheap dollars to the global financial system has risen to unprecedented levels. The Institute for International Finance in Washington estimates the debt of households, governments, corporations and the financial sector in the 30 largest emerging markets rose to 211% of gross domestic product at the start of this year. It was 143% at the end of 2008.
Further data from the Washington IIF indicate the scale of a debt trap that is only in early stages of detonating across the less-advanced economies from Latin America to Turkey to Asia. Excluding China, emerging market total debt, in all currencies including domestic, has nearly doubled from 15 trillion dollars in 2007 to 27 trillion dollars at end of 2017. China debt in the same time went from 6 trillion dollars to 36 trillion dollars according to IIF.
For the group of Emerging Market countries, their debts denominated in US dollars has grown to some 6.4 trillion dollars from 2.8 trillion dollars in 2007. Turkish companies now owe almost 300 billion dollars in foreign-denominated debt, over half its GDP, most in dollars. Emerging markets preferred the dollar for many reasons.
As long as those emerging economies were growing, earning export dollars at a rising rate, the debt was manageable. Now all that’s beginning to change. The agent of that change is the world’s most political central bank, the US Federal Reserve, whose new chairman, Jerome Powell, is a former partner of the spooky Carlyle Group.
Arguing that the domestic US economy is strong enough that they can return US dollar interest rates to “normal,” the Fed has begun a titanic shift in dollar liquidity to the world economy. Powell and the Fed know very well what they are doing. They are ratcheting up the dollar screws to precipitate a major new economic crisis across the emerging world, most especially from key Eurasian economies such as Iran, Turkey, Russia and China.
Despite all efforts of Russia, China, Iran and other countries to shift away from US dollar dependence for international trade and finance, the dollar remains still unchallenged as world central bank reserve currency, some 63% of all BIS central bank reserves. Moreover almost 88% of daily foreign currency trades are in US dollars. Most all oil trade, gold and commodity trades are denominated in dollars. Since the Greek crisis in 2011 the Euro has not been a serious rival for reserve currency hegemony. Its share in reserves are about 20% today.
Since the 2008 financial crisis the dollar and the importance of the Fed have expanded to unprecedented levels. This is only now beginning to be appreciated as the world begins to feel for the first time since 2008 real dollar shortages, meaning a much higher cost to borrow more dollars to refinance old dollar debt. The peak for total emerging market dollar debt falling due comes in 2019, with more than 1.3 trillion dollars maturing.
Here comes the trap. The Fed is not only hinting it will raise US Fed funds rates more aggressively later this year into next. It is also reducing the amount of US Treasury debt it bought after the 2008 crisis, so-called QT or Quantitative Tightening.
From QE to QT…
After 2008 the Fed began what was called Quantitative Easing. The Fedbought a staggering sum of bonds from the banks up to a peak of 4.5 trillion dollars from only 900 billion dollars at the start of the crisis. Now the Fed announces it plans to reduce that by at least one third in coming months.
The result of QE was that the major banks behind the 2008 financial crisis were flooded with liquidity from the Fed and interest rates plunged to zero. That bank liquidity was in turn invested in any part of the world offering higher returns as US bonds paid near zero interest. It went into junk bonds in the shale oil sector, into a new US housing mini boom.
Most markedly the liquid dollars went into higher-risk emerging markets like Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia, India. Dollars flooded into China where the economy was booming. And the dollars poured into Russia before US sanctions earlier this year began to put a chill on foreign investors.
Now the Fed has begun QT – Quantitative Tightening – the reverse of QE. Late 2017 the Fed slowly began to shrink its bond holdings which reduces dollar liquidity in the banking system. In late 2014 the Fed already stopped buying new bonds from the market. The reduction of the bond holdings of the Fed in turn pushed interest rates higher.
Until this summer, it was all “gently, gently.” Then the US President launched a global targeted trade war offensive, creating huge uncertainty in China, Latin America, Turkey and beyond, and new economic sanctions on Russia and Iran.
Today the Fed is allowing 40 billion dollars of its Treasury and corporate bonds mature without replacing them, rising to 50 billion dollars monthly later this year. That takes those dollars out of the banking system. In addition, to aggravate what is quickly becoming a full-blown dollar shortage, the Trump tax cut law is adding hundreds of billions to the deficit that the US Treasury will have to finance by issuing new bond debt.
As the supply of US Treasury debt rises, the Treasury will be forced to pay higher interest to sell those bonds. Higher US interest rates already are acting as a magnet to suck dollars back into the US from around the world.
Adding to the global tightening, under pressure from the dominance of the Fed and the dollar, the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank have been forced to announce they would no longer buy bonds in their respective QE actions. Since March, the world has de facto been in the new era of QT.
From here it looks to get dramatic unless the Federal Reserve does an about face and resumes with a new QE liquidity operation to avoid a global systemic crisis. At this juncture that looks unlikely. Today the world central banks more than even before 2008, dance to the tune played by the Federal Reserve. As Henry Kissinger allegedly stated in the 1970’s “If you control the money, you control the world.”
A 2019 New Global Crisis?
While so far the impact of dollar contraction has been gradual, it’s about to get dramatic. The combined G-3 central banks’ balance sheet increased by a mere 76 billion dollars in the first half of 2018, compared with a 703 billion dollars rise in the prior six months – almost half a trillion of dollars gone from the global lending pool. Bloomberg estimates that net asset purchases by the three main central banks will fall to zero by the end of this year, from close to 100 billion dollars a month at the end of 2017. Annually that translates into an equivalent 1.2 trillion dollars less of dollar liquidity in 2019 in the world.
The Turkish Lira has dropped by half since early this year in relation to the US dollar. That means Turkish large construction companies and others who were able to borrow “cheap” dollars, now must find double the sum of US dollars to service those debts.The debt is not state Turkish debt for the most part but private corporate borrowing.
Turkish companies owe an estimated 300 billion dollars in foreign currency debt, most dollars, almost half the entire GDP of the country. That dollar liquidity has kept the Turkish economy growing since the 2008 US financial crisis. Not only the Turkish economy…Asian countries from Pakistan to South Korea, minus China, have borrowed an estimated 2.1 trillion dollars.
As long as the dollar depreciated against those currencies and the Fed kept interest rates low – as from 2008 – 2015, there was little problem. Now that’s all changing and dramatically so. The dollar is rising strongly against all other currencies, 7% this year. Combined with this, Washington is deliberately initiating trade wars, political provocations, unilateral breaking of the Iran treaty, new sanctions on Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and unprecedented provocations against China.  Trump’s trade wars, ironically, have led to a “flight to safety” out of emerging countries like Turkey or China to the US markets, most notably the stock market.
The Fed is weaponizing the US dollar and the preconditions are in many ways similar to that during the 1997 Asia crisis. Then all it needed was a concerted US hedge fund attack on the weakest Asian Tier economy, the Thai Baht to trigger collapse across most of South Asia to South Korea and even Hong Kong. Today the trigger is Trump and his bellicose tweets against Erdogan.
The US Trump trade wars, political sanctions and new tax laws, in the context of the clear Fed strategy of dollar tightening, provide the backdrop to wage a dollar war against key political opponents globally without ever having to declare war.  All it took was a series of trade provocations against the huge China economy, political provocations against the Turkish government, new groundless sanctions against Russia, and banks from Paris to Milan to Frankfurt to New York and anyone else with dollar loans to higher risk emerging markets began the rush for the exit.
The Lira collapses as a result of near panic selling, or the Iran currency crisis, the fall of the Russian ruble. All reflects the beginning, as likely does the decline in the China Renminbi, of a global dollar shortage.
If Washington succeeds on November 4 in cutting all Iran oil exports, world (dollar) oil prices could soar above 100 dollars, adding dramatically to the developing world dollar shortage. This is war by other means. The Fed dollar strategy is acting now as a “silent weapon” for not so quiet wars.
If it continues it could deal a serious setback to the growing independence of Eurasian countries around the China New Silk Road and the Russia-China-Iran alternative to the dollar system. The role of the dollar as lead global reserve currency and the ability of the Federal Reserve to control it, is a weapon of massive destruction and a strategic pillar of American superpower control.
Are the nations of Eurasia or even the ECB ready to deal effectively?
William Engdahl is strategic risk consultant and lecturer, he holds a degree in politics from Princeton University and is a best-selling author on oil and geopolitics, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”where this article was originally published. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

Top 5 countries opting to ditch US dollar & the reasons behind their move


The past year was full of events that inevitably split the global geopolitical space into two camps: those who still support using US currency as a universal financial tool, and those who are turning their back on the greenback.
Global tensions caused by economic sanctions and trade conflicts triggered by Washington have forced targeted countries to take a fresh look at alternative payment systems currently dominated by the US dollar.
The ongoing trade conflict between the United States and China, as well as sanctions against Beijing’s biggest trading partners have forced China to take steps towards relieving the dollar dependence of the world’s second-largest economy.
In Beijing’s signature soft-power style, the government hasn’t made any loud announcements on the issue. However, the People’s Bank of China has been regularly reducing the country’s share of US Treasuries. Still the number-one foreign holder of the US sovereign debt, China has cut its share to the lowest level since May 2017.
Moreover, instead of promptly dumping the greenback, China is trying to internationalize its own currency, the yuan, which was included in the IMF basket alongside the US dollar, the Japanese yen, the euro, and the British pound. Beijing has recently made several steps towards strengthening the yuan, including accumulating gold reserves, launching yuan-priced crude futures, and using the currency in trade with international partners.

As part of its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, China is planning to introduce swap facilities in participating countries to promote the use of the yuan. Moreover, the country is actively pushing for a free-trade agreement called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which will include the countries of Southeast Asia. The trade pact could easily replace the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the proposed multi-national trade deal which was torn up by US President Donald Trump shortly after he took office. RCEP includes 16 country signatories and the potential pact is expected to form a union of nearly 3.4 billion people based on a combined $49.5 trillion economy, which accounts for nearly 40 percent of the world’s GDP.

India
Ranked the world’s sixth-largest economy, India is one of the biggest merchandise importers. It’s not surprising that the country is directly affected by most global geopolitical conflicts and is significantly impacted by sanctions applied to its trading partners.
Earlier this year, Delhi switched to ruble payments on supplies of Russian S-400 air-defense systems as a result of US economic penalties introduced against Moscow. The country also had to switch to the rupee in purchases of Iranian crude after Washington reinstituted sanctions against Tehran. In December, India and the United Arab Emirates sealed a currency-swap agreement to boost trade and investment without the involvement of a third currency.
Taking into account that India is the third-largest country by purchasing power parity, steps of this kind could considerably diminish the role of the greenback in global trading.

Turkey

Earlier this year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced plans to end the US dollar monopoly via a new policy that is aimed at non-dollar trading with the country’s international partners. Later, Turkey’s leader announced that Ankara is preparing to conduct trade through national currencies with China, Russia and Ukraine. Turkey also discussed a possible replacement of the US dollar with national currencies in trade transactions with Iran.
The move was prompted by political and economic reasons. Relations between Ankara and Washington have been deteriorating since the failed military coup in the country to oust President Erdogan in 2016. It’s been reported that Erdogan suspects US involvement in the uprising and accuses Washington of harboring exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for masterminding the coup.
The Turkish economy sank after Washington introduced economic sanctions over the arrest of US evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson on terrorism charges in relation to the uprising.
Erdogan has repeatedly slammed Washington for unleashing a global trade war, sanctioning Turkey and trying to isolate Iran. The NATO member’s decision to buy Russian S-400 missile systems added fuel to the fire.
Moreover, Turkey is trying to ditch the dollar in an attempt to support its national currency. The lira has lost nearly half of its value against the greenback over the past year. The currency plunge was exacerbated by soaring inflation and increasing prices for goods and services.

Iran

A triumphant return of Iran to the global trading arena did not last long. Shortly after winning the US presidential election, Donald Trump opted to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal signed between Tehran and a group of nations, including the UK, US, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the EU.
The oil-rich nation has once again become a target for severe sanctions resumed by Washington, which has also threatened to introduce penalties against any countries that would violate the embargo. The punitive measures banned business deals with the Islamic Republic and cracked down on the country’s oil industry.
Sanctions have forced Tehran to look for alternatives to the US dollar as payment for its oil exports. Iran clinched a deal for oil settlements with India using the Indian rupee. It also negotiated a barter deal with neighboring Iraq. The partners are also planning to use the Iraqi dinar for mutual transactions to reduce reliance on the US dollar amid banking problems connected to US sanctions.

Russia

President Vladimir Putin said the US is “making a colossal strategic mistake” by “undermining confidence in the dollar.” Putin has never called for restricting dollar transactions or banning the use of US currency. However, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said earlier this year that the country had to dump its holdings of US Treasuries in favor of more secure assets, such as the ruble, the euro, and precious metals.
The country has already taken several steps towards de-dollarizing the economy due to the constantly growing burden of sanctions that have been introduced since 2014 over a number of issues. Russia has developed a national payment system as an alternative to SWIFT, Visa and Mastercard after the US threatened tougher new sanctions that would target Russia’s financial system.
So far, Moscow has managed to partially phase out the greenback from its exports, signing currency-swap agreements with a number of countries including China, India and Iran. Russia has recently proposed using the euro instead of the US dollar in trade with the European Union.
Once a top-10 holder of US sovereign debt, Russia has all but eliminated its holdings of US Treasuries. Moscow has used the money to boost the nation’s foreign reserves and to build up its gold stockpile to stabilize the ruble.
https://www.rt.com/business/447915-top-states-ditching-dollar/

14 thoughts on “Resistance vs. Washington’s Silent Weapon for Not-so-Quiet Wars”

  1. Wipe the American Debt of 25 trillion out in one go, Shut down the FED and ALL private Central Banks, confiscate all properties by eminent domain, and empty all accounts and shreholdings and invest ALL back into America and where itwas all stolen from by FRAUD, any loan made with out any back up other than the lying word of a Zionist is NOT a legal agreement.

    1. You are all owed 4 quadrillion dollars from the day the FED sold you all to the British Crown.

  2. Washington controls nothing. As Steele said, “It’s the Jews, stupid.”
    The Jews even marked up the back of their fiat-dollar bills with their symbols and intentions–note the crumbling of the pyramid. And take a gander at the Israeli pustular’s Supreme Court building.
    1.73% of the US Tyranny’s population, and one can smell their putrid “fruit” from light-years away.
    One is not a true American until resident in the ADL’s database.

  3. Always follow the money when seeking the bad stuff.
    We were told the truth of the stealthy Fed in 1933 but who was listening. http://hiwaay.net/~becraft/mcfadden.html
    Because we were not listening and inquiring in the beginning of the founding of America we got this. Queen Elizabeth controls and has amended U.S. Social Security, as follows:
    S.I. 1997 NO.1778 The Social Security ( United States of America) Order 1997 Made 22nd of July 1997 coming into force 1st September 1997. At the Court at Buckingham Palace the 22nd day of July 1997. Now, therefore Her Majesty an pursuance of section 179 (1) (a) and (2) of the Social Security Administration Act of 1992 and all other powers enabling Her in that behalf, is please, by and with advise of Her privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered as follows:
    “This Order may be cited as the Social Security (United States of America) Order 1997 and shall come into force on 1st September 1997.” Does this give a new meaning to Federal Judge William Wayne Justice stating in court that he takes his orders from England? This order goes on to redefine words in the Social Security Act and makes some changes in United States Law.
    Remember, King George was the “Arch-Treasurer and Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire and c, and of the United States of America.” See: Treaty of Peace (1738) 8 U.S. Statutes at Large. Great Britain which is the agent for the Pope, is in charge of the USA ‘plantation.’
    What people do not know is that the so called Founding Fathers and King George were working hand-n-hand to bring the people of America to there knees, to install a Central Government over them and to bind them to a debt that could not be paid. First off you have to understand that the UNITED STATES is a corporation and that it existed before the Revolutionary war. See Respublica v. Sweers 1 Dallas 43. 28 U.S.C. 3002 (15)
    Now, you also have to realize that King George was not just the King of England, he was also the King of France. Treaty of Peace * U.S. 8 Statutes at Large 80. Never to forget Ben Franklin was the lead negotiator for the King in drawing up this Treaty – as Esquire and Mason. How many masters can one serve?
    On January 22, 1783 Congress ratified a contract for the repayment of 21 loans that the UNITED STATES had already received dating from February 28, 1778 to July 5, 1782. Now the UNITED STATES Inc. owes the King money which is due January 1, 1788 from King George via France. Is this not incredible the King funded both sides of the War. But there was more work that needed to be done.
    Now the Articles of Confederation which was declared in force March 1, 1781 States in Article 12 ” All bills of credit emitted, monies borrowed,and debts contracted by, or under the authority of Congress, before the assembling of the United States, in pursuance of the present confederation, shall be deemed and considered a charge against the United States, for payment and satisfaction whereof the said United States, and the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged.”
    Want more of what they don’t teach in government run school, please ask.

    1. Yes I would like [to hear] more about the British run US corporation and, in particular, whether it is currently undergoing “financial restructuring”, and if so, for what reason?
      I agree that following the money is a revealing and worthwhile pursuit when one seeks to establish ‘the truth’.

      1. In regard to SERCO use Muckety.com it is a good research tool. You will find many of their connections and other British companies and bankers within the Military and Security industrial complex. It’s a huge swamp and it isn’t ours.

  4. My my my, the dollar has always been weaponised since even before the departure from the gold standard. The banksters have got their control using mindless, useless eaters as their canon fodder to exert control domestically and worldwide. They have used this military might and scare tactics to deliberately devalue currencies – which by the way is another fraud….
    And the sheep will continue to sing praises to them that control… Baaa baa

      1. Ri-chard for the life of me I could not find our previous conversation and hence the lack of contact. Could you please furnish me with your email address again.

  5. MR ENGDAHL DOES A GOOD JOB EXPLAINING WASHINGTON’S GAME PLAN BUT MAKES THE ERRONEOUS ASSUMPTION THAT THE G19 HAVEN’T LEARNED HOW TO COUNTER WASHINGTON’S CURRENCY WARS THAT HAVE BEEN RAGING SINCE CLINTON INVENTED THE TECHNIQUE. WASHINGTON SHOULD HAVE LEARNED FROM NAPOLEON THAT NO MATTER HOW STUPID YOUR OPPONENT MAY BE, IT, YOU USE THE SAME TACTIC TO MANY TIMES, HE WILL LEARN HOW TO DEFEAT IT. DUH!
    “The dollar is rising strongly against all other currencies, 7% this year.” BUT INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS HAVE PULLED OUT OF MARKETS, NO ONE IS BUYING TREASURIES AND NO MENTION WAS MADE ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THE RMB IS BEING USED MORE HEAVILY IN TRADE. WHILE CHINA HAS DEBT MOST OF IT IS DOMESTICALLY OWNED AND THEREBY CONTROLLED BY THE GOVERNMENT. WHEREAS THE USA IS HEAVILY DEPENDENT ON STRANGERS AND GUN-BOAT DIPLOMACY TO KEEP OUR CREDITORS AT BAY. THE USA CAN’T CONTROL ITS LENDING RATES. FURTHERMORE, THE CURRENTLY OUTSTANDING TREASURY DEBT DOES NOT HAVE FIXED INTEREST RATES. SO AS CHINA, INDIA AND JAPAN SELL OFF THEIR TREASURIES, SOMEBODY HAS TO BUY THEM OR ELSE THE INTEREST RATES WILL RISE ON CURRENT HOLDINGS AND NEW SALES. AND, IF, THE USA DOESN’T BUY UP THOSE BONDS THAT CAN CAUSE A SELL-OFF WHICH COULD BANKRUPT THE USA FINANCIAL SYSTEM.
    EG, TURKEY CAN DEFAULT ON ITS LOANS AND / OR REFINANCE WITH THE RMB. NEW LOANS CAN BE MADE THROUGH CHINA’S WORLD BANK. AND PUTIN HAS BEEN DEVELOPING OIL FIELDS OF POOR COUNTRIES–OF WHICH THERE ARE MANY–REDUCING OR ELIMINATING THEIR NEEDS TO IMPORT OIL. THEN THERE IS THE QUESTION AS TO HOW MANY COUNTRIES ARE CURRENTLY TRADING IN RMB FOR OIL AND GOLD.
    KEEP IN MIND THAT WHEN THE USA CONTROLLED THE PETRODOLLAR RATE OF EXCHANGE IT WAS ABLE TO EXPORT INFLATION. BUT WATCHING THE VIDEO OF THE NOVEMBER G20 SUMMIT IN ARGENTINA WHERE TRUMP WAS SNUBBED BY ALL 19 MEMBERS, I WOULD SAY THAT WAS THE WAKE UP CALL FOR AMERICANS THAT THINGS ARE GOING TO CHANGE. THE PENTAGON CAN’T WAGE A WAR AGAINST THE ENTIRE PLANET. EVEN OUR TRADITIONAL ALLIES WEREN’T WITH TRUMP THAT DAY.
    RIGHT NOW INFLATION IS AT 1.9% AND WAGE INCREASES ARE AT 3.9%. WHAT IF OUR DOMESTIC INFLATION RISES TO 7% WHICH IS UP 268%, WILL WAGE RATES INCREASE TO 14%. THAT WOULD MEAN THAT THE CURRENT YIELD ON MUTUAL FUNDS AND BANK CDs WHICH ARE NOW HOVERING AROUND 1.2% – 2.25% WOULD HAVE TO JUMP TO 4.42% TO 8.28. BUT LET’S FACE IT, IN THE WORLD OF FINANCE LOGIC IS NOT A STRONG COMPONENT IN HOW RATES ARE DETERMINED. EVEN NOW YOUR RETIREMENT PLAN ISN’T GROWING. THEN OUR ECONOMY IS BASED ON DEBT AND EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES AND NOT ON MANUFACTURING, SO, WE ARE DEPENDENT ON OTHERS FINANCING OUR ECONOMY. THAT IS WHAT ONE HAND IS DOING, THE OTHER HAND, THE DOMESTIC HAND HAS CENTI-MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES AND CORPORATIONS NOT WANTING TO PAY TAXES. I KNOW, AS I THINK YOU KNOW, THE PENTAGON AND BLACK OPS BUDGETS WILL KEEP EXPANDING WHILE EVERY THING ELSE IS CUT. AND, THINK ABOUT IT, REAGAN STOLE ALL THE MONEY OUT OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND REPLACED WHAT HE STOLE WITH–OH, YES, WORTHLESS US TREASURY NOTES.
    AT PRESENT, GOLD PRICES ARE RISING (BUT ON WHOSE MARKET? THE LONDON OR THE CHINESE FIXED MARKETS?), OIL PRICES DROPPING,
    THE USD IS RISING AGAINST ITS CENTRAL BANK PARTNERS BUT IS WEAK WITH OTHER CURRENCIES, THE FINANCIAL MARKETS ARE DOWN, NO ONE BUYING US TREASURIES, AMERICAN CONSUMERS BUYING USED INSTEAD OF NEW CARS, HOUSING PRICES DROPPING, & DEBT HAS INCREASED ABOVE THE 2008 LEVELS (AMAZINGLY AUTO AND STUDENT LOANS ARE THE FASTEST GROWING). THIS IS NOT A HEALTHY ECONOMY WHEN IN THE 3/4-2016 80% OF THE GDP WAS MADE UP OF DEBT AND OIL SALES 10% AND MANUFACTURING / AGRICULTURE / EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES MAKING UP THE REST.
    THE FACT THAT THE ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF ECOLOGICAL DEGRADATION THE FRACKING INDUSTRY CREATED TO KEEP THE PETRO DOLLAR STRONG AND THE FACT THAT FINANCE CAN ONLY RE-DISTRIBUTE WEALTH AND NOT CREATE IS OUR GODZILLA. I WOULD SAY AS FAR AS CURRENCY WARS GO THAT THE SITUATION HAS FLIPPED FOR WASHINGTON. ANY WAY YOU LOOK AT IT WASHINGTON HAS TO SPEND MONEY IT DOESN’T HAVE TO CONTINUE ITS WORLD DOMINANCE. THIS FACT IS SLOWLY HITTING THE CONSUMER WITH NEVER ENDING INCREASES IN MEDICINE AND MEDICAL TREATMENT; STUDENT LOANS; THE COST OF CAR PURCHASES RISING WHILE QUALITY DROPS; WITH FOOD PRICES RISING WHILE QUALITY AND QUANTITY CONTINUE TO DECLINE FOR SOME 5 DECADES; IL-FITTING CLOTHES AND SHOES THAT FALL OFF YOUR FEET; AND, DROPPING HOME AND INVESTMENT VALUES WITH STAGNANT OR DECLINING WAGE VALUE GAVE US OBAMA AND NOW TRUMP. THEN THERE ARE THE TWO POLITICAL PARTIES WHO IGNORE THEIR CONSTITUENTS DEMANDS AND STONEWALL THEM WITH PROPAGANDA. OF COURSE THERE IS CHUCK SCHUMER WHO ONLY WANTS WHITE RICH EDUCATED MALES TO VOTE FOR THE DEMOCRATS.
    I ASK, WHERE IS THE COUNTRY CALLED THE USA? THERE IS NO NATIONAL IMAGE OF AMERICA ANY MORE THAN THERE IS A SOCIO-ECONOMIC POLICY FOR AMERICA. I DON’T SEE HOW CONGRESS CAN WAGE A WAR AGAINST THE REST OF THE WORLD WHILE IT IS WAGING A WAR AGAINST ITS OWN PEOPLE. AND THE FASCISTS – CORPORATIST HAVE THIS PECULIAR NOTION THAT MONEY GROWS ON TREES, DON’T REALIZE THAT THEIR PERSONAL WEALTH, THEIR PERSONAL POWER, EMANATES FROM MARKETS WHICH ARE ULTIMATELY CONTROLLED BY “CONSUMERS”. SO, AS THEY PUNISH THE CONSUMER, THEY PUNISH THEMSELVES.
    WHAT MR. ENGDAHL SHOULD FOCUS ON IS, HOW MUCH IN RESOURCES THAT CONGRESS INVESTS ON KEEPING THE PETRO DOLLAR ALIVE WHICH IS WHAT KEEPS THEIR WORLD DOMINANCE MACHINE OPERATING. $21 TR MISSING FROM THE PENTAGON BUDGET. WHERE DID IT GO TO? PROBABLY NO-BID GOVT CONTRACTS TO KEEP MANUFACTURING GOING IN A MARKET THAT HAS TURNED SOUR TO USA GOODS. THEN, DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO INFLATE THE DOLLAR BY REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF DOLLAR’S IN CIRCULATION WHEN THERE IS THE RMB THERE TO REPLACE IT?

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