Doomsday and The End of Growth ?

Barry, My Liege :

As you know well, your administration together with just about all the economists on the planet have pinned our hope for the future on economic growth.

The mantra is simple : Economic growth will bring jobs and allow a more fair distribution of wealth and incomes.

Indeed, as noted in this space, our current economic policies require that our economy grows.

If we have no growth, then we will be unable to manage our debt or provide for the poor among us.

In that event, one's mind reels at the various scenarios which might obtain.

Now economist Gail Tverberg has proposed that we are facing an imminent end to growth.

Her reasoning is elegantly simple. To wit : We are running out of raw materials like oil which are available cheaply and easily.

As raw materials become more costly, we will be less able to invest in the new ventures from whence growth comes. It will take more and more of our current income just to sustain our current standard of living.

Her short paper is here : http://ourfiniteworld.com/2014/02/06/limits-to-growth-at-our-doorstep-but-not-recognized/#more-38795

At some future time, we may well face a depression with deflation and falling real incomes. When this happened in Russia under Yeltsin, it was preceded by a hyper inflation with a concomitant 'need' to revalue the currency; that revaluation consisted of confiscating the savings of most Russian citizens.

And, My Liege, that time is measured in a few years - not in the centuries we might hope for.

Further, My Liege, fear of possible government reactions to that situation exists in some quarters.

According to the Turner Radio Network, Edward Snowden has taken the following information [http://www.turnerradionetwork.com/news/266-pat] :

* a complete roster of absolutely every employee and official of the entire US Government.

* The names, home addresses, unlisted personal home telephone and personal cellular phone numbers, dates of birth and social security numbers of every person involved in any way, with any department of the US Government.

* The files include elected officials, Cabinet appointees, Judges, and **ALL** law enforcement agency employees including sworn officers.

* Similar files with the personal information of EVERY government contractor and all employees of that contractor!

* Similar files with all the personal information of EVERY Bank Corporation, their operating officers and their Boards of Directors, including all current and former members of the Federal Reserve

Mr. Snowden has indicated that he will publish all this information
if he 'vanishes' for any reason or if potentially harmful government actions are undertaken :

"Making the situation all the more dire for the government is that Snowden has made clear he will release some of the information under certain "other" circumstances. For instance, if Martial Law is declared in the US or if any elections are canceled for any reason, all the government employee info goes out. If the US Dollar collapses as a currency, or there is any type of "bail-in" for banks, where depositors money is seized to prop-up banks as happened in the country of Cypress, all the Federal Reserve and Banker info goes out. If an economic collapse takes place, all the Banker/Stock Broker/Commodities Trader information goes out. If Corporations start hyper-inflating prices, all the information about them, their officers and Boards of Directors will go out."

While predicting future events and subsequent reaction to them is always a risky business, there does appear to be several underlying realities which bear close inspection, My Liege.

Your faithful servant,