Chris Martenson
Author and social critic James Howard Kunstler has been one of the earliest, most direct, and most articulate voices to warn of the consequences — economic and otherwise — of modern society's profligate wasting of the resources that underlie its growth.
In his new book, Too Much Magic, Jim attacks the wishful thinking dominant today that with a little more growth, a little more energy, a little more technology — a little more magic — we'll somehow sail past our current tribulations without having to change our behavior.
Such self-delusion is particularly dangerous because it is preventing us from taking intelligent, constructive action at the national level when the clock is fast ticking out of our favor. In fact, Jim claims that we are past the state where solutions are possible. Instead, we need a response plan to help us best brace for the impact of the coming consequences. And we need it fast.
James Howard Kunstler: It’s Too Late for Solutions
Author and social critic James Howard Kunstler has been one of the earliest, most direct, and most articulate voices to warn of the consequences — economic and otherwise — of modern society's profligate wasting of the resources that underlie its growth.
In his new book, Too Much Magic, Jim attacks the wishful thinking dominant today that with a little more growth, a little more energy, a little more technology — a little more magic — we'll somehow sail past our current tribulations without having to change our behavior.
Such self-delusion is particularly dangerous because it is preventing us from taking intelligent, constructive action at the national level when the clock is fast ticking out of our favor. In fact, Jim claims that we are past the state where solutions are possible. Instead, we need a response plan to help us best brace for the impact of the coming consequences. And we need it fast.
Executive Summary
- Sustaining through a prolonged currency decline is challenging. How to best invest your capital through the speculative whipsaws that will buffet asset prices.
- Why important-dependent countries (like the US) are particularly vulnerable.
- What the stages of a US currency crisis will be.
- What the lessons from the currency destruction in the Weimar Republic and modern Iran have to teach us about wealth preservation.
If you have not yet read Part I: Our Money Is Dying, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
A Process, Not an Event
An important observation is that even the most destructive of these episodes are multi-year processes and are not events that transpire over a matter of days. This means that you will most likely have to plan on navigating the waters for at least several years, possibly as many as ten, which raises issues around the depth of your mental and emotional resilience, and the durability of your physical and financial preparations.
Sure, nearly everybody can coast through the first few weeks and months of a monetary crisis. But very few will truly thrive through the entire process until a final capitulation is reached from which a new beginning can emerge.
Is such resilience even a reasonable goal, or something that can be consciously manifested?
Yes, of course it is. That's why we at Peak Prosperity are here doing what we do…
Positioning Yourself for When Our Money Dies
PREVIEWExecutive Summary
- Sustaining through a prolonged currency decline is challenging. How to best invest your capital through the speculative whipsaws that will buffet asset prices.
- Why important-dependent countries (like the US) are particularly vulnerable.
- What the stages of a US currency crisis will be.
- What the lessons from the currency destruction in the Weimar Republic and modern Iran have to teach us about wealth preservation.
If you have not yet read Part I: Our Money Is Dying, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
A Process, Not an Event
An important observation is that even the most destructive of these episodes are multi-year processes and are not events that transpire over a matter of days. This means that you will most likely have to plan on navigating the waters for at least several years, possibly as many as ten, which raises issues around the depth of your mental and emotional resilience, and the durability of your physical and financial preparations.
Sure, nearly everybody can coast through the first few weeks and months of a monetary crisis. But very few will truly thrive through the entire process until a final capitulation is reached from which a new beginning can emerge.
Is such resilience even a reasonable goal, or something that can be consciously manifested?
Yes, of course it is. That's why we at Peak Prosperity are here doing what we do…
Joe Saluzzi, expert on algorithmic trading — also known as high-frequency trading, or HFT — returns as a guest this week to explain how the players behind this machine-driven process act as parasites that are destroying our financial markets (and, increasingly, even themselves).
Since Joe first spoke with us last year, HFT firms have only increased in size and share of market activity. Here are some staggering statistics on how influential they have become:
- HTFs make up between 50-70% of the volume seen across market exchanges today.
- 2% of the traders on many exchanges (HFTs, specifically) represent 80% of the volume.
- A single large HFT firm (referred to as a Direct Market Maker) can account for 10%+ of a market's volume on a given day
- Large HFT firms make between $8 to $21 billion a year.
- HFT trades occur in milliseconds (i.e., a small fraction of the time it takes your eye to blink).
With such scale, speed, and profitability, HFTs have turned the market away from being an efficient price-setting mechanism and perverted it into a casino where the clientele of human investors gets fleeced.
Joe Saluzzi: HFT Parasites are Killing the Market Host
Joe Saluzzi, expert on algorithmic trading — also known as high-frequency trading, or HFT — returns as a guest this week to explain how the players behind this machine-driven process act as parasites that are destroying our financial markets (and, increasingly, even themselves).
Since Joe first spoke with us last year, HFT firms have only increased in size and share of market activity. Here are some staggering statistics on how influential they have become:
- HTFs make up between 50-70% of the volume seen across market exchanges today.
- 2% of the traders on many exchanges (HFTs, specifically) represent 80% of the volume.
- A single large HFT firm (referred to as a Direct Market Maker) can account for 10%+ of a market's volume on a given day
- Large HFT firms make between $8 to $21 billion a year.
- HFT trades occur in milliseconds (i.e., a small fraction of the time it takes your eye to blink).
With such scale, speed, and profitability, HFTs have turned the market away from being an efficient price-setting mechanism and perverted it into a casino where the clientele of human investors gets fleeced.
Former US Senator Bill Bradley believes a better tomorrow is within our grasp, despite the economic pain the middle class is experiencing today.
He wrote his new book We Can All Do Better to address the growing despondency and resentment he sees among Americans. With the right vision, leadership, and civic participation, he believes we can work our way back to prosperity and growth.
Chris was honored and excited to speak with the former Senator, particularly to uncover what awareness there is of the Three Es among our top political leaders. Not surprisingly for a longtime insider, Senator Bradley looks through the lens of working within the current system – i.e., if we can fix its shortcomings, it will solve our problems. Potential structural limits to growth, such as Peak Oil, are less bright on the radar.
There is much to learn here about what our Congressional leaders are focused on and what they are not. Listeners will undoubtly find points to agree with, and possibly others out-of-alignment with the concerns presented in the Crash Course. We expect an animated discussion to ensue in the Comments section below.
We take it as a good sign that widely-known veteran politicians such as Senator Bradley are increasingly standing up to admit "there is a problem" — that's the first step towards taking corrective action. And we're very thankful of the time the Senator has given to speak to our community.
Senator Bill Bradley: Lack of Long-Range Planning Is Putting Our Future at Risk
Former US Senator Bill Bradley believes a better tomorrow is within our grasp, despite the economic pain the middle class is experiencing today.
He wrote his new book We Can All Do Better to address the growing despondency and resentment he sees among Americans. With the right vision, leadership, and civic participation, he believes we can work our way back to prosperity and growth.
Chris was honored and excited to speak with the former Senator, particularly to uncover what awareness there is of the Three Es among our top political leaders. Not surprisingly for a longtime insider, Senator Bradley looks through the lens of working within the current system – i.e., if we can fix its shortcomings, it will solve our problems. Potential structural limits to growth, such as Peak Oil, are less bright on the radar.
There is much to learn here about what our Congressional leaders are focused on and what they are not. Listeners will undoubtly find points to agree with, and possibly others out-of-alignment with the concerns presented in the Crash Course. We expect an animated discussion to ensue in the Comments section below.
We take it as a good sign that widely-known veteran politicians such as Senator Bradley are increasingly standing up to admit "there is a problem" — that's the first step towards taking corrective action. And we're very thankful of the time the Senator has given to speak to our community.
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by sand_puppy 
