A Very Scary, Very Disturbing Blog Post About The Coming 2008 Economic Crash

Well I've been one of those doom and gloomers about the economy since last Summer, when I had a stock held in my IRA (AHM- American Home Mortgage) go boom basically overnight. This inspired me to research and learn so much more about the whole mortgage mess. What I found sent shivers through me. The sub-prime damage is already pretty much past, what is happening now is the mess has spread into ALT-A and even prime mortgages. Many people are in a negative equity position on their homes, and really have no incentive to stay in it in such a case and are simply walking away. Until that situation is resolved expect continued craziness in anything touched by the derivatives based off of mortgages.

Things to watch in the coming weeks

Watch what the ECB headed by Trichet does in regards to interest rates in Euroland. The FED held most recently, it's really turning into a game of chicken between Trichet and Bernanke. If Trichet raises it will most likely impact the dollar immediately and severely.

Japan: A strengthening Yen could have some global impacts on markets due to the Yen-carry-trade collapsing. Japan recently posted its first positive inflation in a while. A look at the Japanese economy over the past 15YEARS will show you what happens when governments let banks rot instead of failing. Look at a 20 Year chart of the Nikkei and realize that that could very easily be the S&P 500 if the FED and government aren't extremely carefull. Japan was fotunate enough to have a nation of savers, we are a nation of spenders I don't think we'll be as lucky.

Oil: As always events in the mideast could spike oil to some even unholier level overnight. Any dollar weakness will immediately reflect in the price of oil. Lots of people think that the Saudis can no longer ramp up production enough to signifigantly impact prices. The rest of OPEC seems content to keep prices where they are, cause hell they like the money.

Governmnet actions: I expect some sort of bailout to pass in congress. It may be good temporarily for stock markets, but it could also drive the US gov's cost to borrow money up. I'm almost 100% certain we'll see at least one if not several large regional banks get seized/forceable merged by the FDIC by the end of year. Congress knows you don't "get it" and will try to bail out as many of thier contributors as possible while telling you they are trying to keep you in your home. I expect that they will attempt to find some way to get people out of non-recourse loans into recourse loans where you can't just walk away (bank can come after assetts other than home).

China: One must wonder what they will do after the Olympics in regards to their foreign reserves.

Rest of world: What remains to be seen is if the US (world largest consumer) goes down for a and extended period of lower consumption will the emerging middle classes in the rest of the world be able to fill in the gap. I'm not convinced at all that the rest of the world is truly decoupled from the US.

Contrarily, when the realizations I've had for a while now become public knowledge, and are being discussed more mainstream now, I have to wonder if the turn may be near. At some point there is going to be a buying oportunity of the ages, I've got a few things i'm looking for before I become more than a short term buyer again.

reply to post by regeya


Yeah. I understand. I have to let go now. There is an innate desire to try to help people of your species. I have to ignore it.

Like LightInTheDarness said, maybe the gold boom is just a bubble. I watch commodities and stocks every day. I'll try to get out at the first sign of a drop...but afterwards, get into what then? It's all going to drop I guess.

In the end, I am trying to hold on to dreams that this world will not let me have. Everytime you go in one direction, it changes the rules.

What I hate the most is looking into the eyes of people on the street, and seeing nothing there. No concern. No ideas.

I worry that if bad things do happen, I'm not going to care.

reply to post by JediK


The corporate spin is the doom and gloom. That is just it. That IS what they want you to believe. Day after day, channel after channel, news article after news article, the mass media agrees: life sucks, the end is nigh, and its time to run for the hills. ATS claims to deny ignorance, yet they embrace it when it comes straight from the mass media - it seems ATS users only deny ignorance when its propaganda they don't agree with.

And no, only a small sector of people agree "it" is coming soon. Those who look at the data see no need for hysteria. The only "it" thats coming anytime soon is a sluggish US economy, as it goes in a cyclical recession. Were not even in a recession yet and people already proclaiming the end.

....Just like the early 2000s
....And like the 1980s
....And the 1970s

Hmm. I sense a pattern.

No, the doom and gloomers won't be most prepared. If your preparing for a financial Armageddon which is likely to never happen in your life time - the preparations for such gloom are completely different than preparing for the most likely disasters - like localized natural disasters.

I yet again challenge anyone to point out 1 doom and gloom prediction from ATS that has ever come true. Ever. There is a reason why you will find none. Because even though every day, hundreds of times a day, people are screaming that the end is nigh...they've been wrong. And they will continue to be, until someone gets lucky.

[edit on 29-6-2008 by ALightinDarkness]

reply to post by regeya


I couldn't agree more. The sad thing is that the armchair economists on ATS who keep declaring the end are doing things that won't prepare them for the most likely disasters to occur. They are to busy building a nuclear fallout shelter on a flood pain, and accusing everyone else of being "sleeping." And when their shelter gets flooded, it'll be a government conspiracy.

At some level I think there are some very active disinformation agents on ATS preaching the doom and gloom to the choir in order to distract from the real evil in the world. After all, who has time to deal with things here and now when utter doom is just around the corner?

[edit on 29-6-2008 by ALightinDarkness]

I was reading the Chicago Tribune earlier today...could've been from the day before... but the big story was this:

THE ECONOMY: FROM BAD TO WORSE

and then, to illustrate their blunt statement, they included a couple of full color graphs with big giant red lines with arrowheads cascading in a downward direction.

There has been major conflict of interest regarding Prosperity Partnerships and the NAU, and it seems funny when people deny the reality of amero and the NAU, when this is the one little tip of the giant deathburg that has made its way into the homes of every american, because they have been giving it coverage.... anyway.... the reality of the situation cannot be fully known, and in a best-case scenario, rumors of a dissolution of the USA may have been started on purpose to create the instability in the US market... but the thing is, whether the rumored NAU is true or not really is meaningless in the light of the here and now. Right here and right now, economic calamity and possible collapse are on the table. Now... we can all panic and act like a bunch of hording selfish pricks, or we can help each other and realize that we're all in this together. An economic collapse does not mean all the food will disappear. It all depends on our REACTION to this event if and when it does happen. Maybe this could be a chance to evolve beyond some of the social ideals that have kept us stuck under this spiritually devoid fake plastic thought-sterile Hell for so long. Maybe we'll be surprised at the way we deal with things this time around. Once the blinders come off, there's no telling how the collective consciousness will grow.

The blinders are governments and corporations that require YOU in order to power their profit. That's the very funny thing about it. NOBODY has any power over another person UNLESS that person willingly gives it up. We willingly give up half of our lives just to live and be left alone (yet we rarely are left alone by these leeches), in order to earn the currency (read silent weapons for quiet wars and you'll realize why it's called currency) which transfers your power to the banks, the corporations and the governments. It's highly organized crime, and it's molestation of humanity as a whole. It's like telling a small child you're going to play a fun game that they'll really like, and then sexually abusing them under the guise of "this is a fun thing you want to do".

So.... in the end.... the governments, banks, and economies MUST fall, because growth can only be held back for so long.... before it breaks free of its encapsulation.

It's going to be a bumpy ride. Instead of buying guns and hording food away from people in some dark hole waiting for your neighbor to steal your food so you can make sure you get a good shot, maybe just try making friends with someone new every week. Strength in numbers.


EDIT to add:

Just remember, no matter what happens, it will be okay eventually. As long as most of us realize that we're all in this together. We just gotta be compassionate and giving in even times of lack, because that's just what it is about. Learn morality, people! There's no excuse for being a dick. Your inflated egos and tiny penises won't save you from God or yourself forever.

Just try being cool to everyone all the time, and man if we could all learn how to just be excellent to each other, we wouldn't even need these systems of control in the first place... so we would never have to be afraid of systems control collapsing in the first place.

Money exists because people forgot how to work together.

So.... this is society? A society that doesn't work with well with others, but rather works in spite of themselves.

That's some schizophrenic social behavior.



[edit on 29-6-2008 by dunwichwitch]

Grasshopper I dont think you will be surviving of your wits being hunted by black helicopters and blacjwater death squads under Sturbanfuher Cheney just yet but Fortis,Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland have all issued serious warnings on the US economy in the last week.

I look forward to the fox studios with Pollyana finance guru Cavutu callapsing around his head as he continues his pollyana mantras and spirals with the rest of the MSM Murdochian effluent around the S bend.

There are several flaws in his argument... most notibly if the government collapses then authority falls on the states so who would be filling these prisons?

Homeland Security (it was turned over to the state some time ago).

Connecting the dots… there has been so many weather related disasters that IMO by year’s end we will be on disaster overload. Recently, my homeowners insurance inserted a large font all caps typed reminder that my policy does not cover floods, earthquakes, etc. For the record, a year or so ago I checked into flood insurance and was told I did not need it, but, insisted I review the material, etc. The cost would be approximately 50% more of what I already pay.

According to a Red Cross update their responding to disasters has increased:

The Red Cross normally responds to 5-6 major relief operations a month, and in the last 3 months alone we’ve responded to 34 big disasters (and 1000s of smaller disasters)

One of the vendors that I buy my emergency supplies from sent me an email stating that the government is buying up large quantities and they are having a hard time keeping stock on certain items. They said to call them before placing an order as they may not have it in stock. I checked a few other websites and similar info was posted in regards to order fulfillment and shipping which used to take 2 to 3 days is now taking up to 4 weeks.

Remember that if all the people stand together against these corrupt cabals, there is absolutely nothing that they can do, whatever they may be plotting.

I have read that so many times on ATS, but, there is no group of people to stand together. Who would you trust? The one you think is your enemy might be a friend and the one you think is your friend might be the enemy. It’s corruption on top of corruption mixed with corruption.

I think they are years beyond the plotting.

If martial law is imposed for a time its best to have a few extra valuable barter items and then team up with your neighbors. When the cops or "storm troopers" come by it would be a nice gesture to give them some coffee and doughnuts as they patrol the cities. They will leave the civilized areas alone.

Very idealistic, evidently, you have not read the “Patriot Act”.
Coffee and doughnuts… “all I have is beans and rice and trying to stretch them as far as I can”.

Remember everyone, just because you desire doom and desperately want to believe in every economic apocalypse made up...doesn't mean its going to happen.

According to your view then the “Patriot Act” is just a piece of paper and they wrote it because nothing is on the horizon and it is a just in case kind of thingy without any real significance and the government is stockpiling freezed dried food for no reason and the floods and fires are fake and the tornados did not really happen and the earthquakes were a mirage and the cost of gas is really the same and last but not least, none of this has an effect on the economy.

Arguing the intent is the only logical coarse of this board go research and take a drive ! Inform your minds and see with your eyes!

If they are not for people perhaps they could house the alien invaders.

Economic 'misery' more widespread
By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Last Updated: May 14, 2008: 10:36 AM EDT

Some experts argue that true inflation and unemployment - the components of the economy's 'Misery Index' - are higher than the government's official figures.

money.cnn.com...

According to their inflation adjuster $1000 in 1913 is now worth $20939.

Is Another Depression On The Horizon?
Oxford Analytica 04.08.08, 6:00 AM ET

Key characteristics of the current business cycle are reminiscent of the Great Depression (1929-1933)

www.forbes.com...

Amero plot real, says biz columnist
Cites 'usually reliable' sources in plans for dollar's end
Posted: October 11, 2007

The commentary follows what appeared to be confirmation of the common North American currency plan by former Mexican President Vicente Fox, who told CNN's Larry King this week that he and President Bush had agreed on a regional currency for the Americas.

www.wnd.com...

This article is about two years old, but, it is still a good read.

Amero, North American Union Debut of the 'amero'
By Judi McLeod
Thursday, December 14, 2006

www.canadafreepress.com...

Nobody in their right mind wants to be in the middle of chaos, famine or war. To be prepared and have a few extras is like having insurance. If everyone is prepared the chances of survival for many increase. It is the considerate thing to do.

Wow! This world is really going to hell in a giant gassoline condom. We're all screwed. Pretty soon we'll be selling our bodies for food and gas. It's gonna be like the great depression all over agian. Except this time it'll be worse. Since we have more crazies in the world compared to back then, and more weapons. All I can say is be prepared.

Some of you are missing the bigger picture, which tends to make me more skeptical, because I would think people who would believe something like this would know the reasons behind it...

If there were a second great depression, it would mean a massive calling in of debt, and the money people have would suddenly be no good for paying off that debt. Many, many people would lose their houses and land, and those houses and land would become the property of international banking entities.

Lots and lots of homeless people roaming the streets, would the people who still have land, and the still rich and wealthy want that? NO! So if there were "prisons", it would be more like government camps to house the masses who no longer "own" the place they've bought on loan, rented, etc.

Bring in the Amero, worth 5-10 times more than the newly destroyed dollar, it's worth based on the "projected new economy" of all of North America, people will want it more than a little bit, for sure.

I'm not sure what makes any of you think people would be taken from their homes in mass and stuck in prisons, but it seems obvious to me that if such places existed, it would because masses of people would no longer have homes to be taken out of. They have to go somewhere...and masses of people, whole neighborhoods and rental buildings in some situations, are going to be a sticky situation to evict. I'd imagine if a lot of people are going to have their homes taken away, and be forced into government camps, the situation would highly resemble prison camps.

[edit on 29-6-2008 by maus80]

reply to post by dunwichwitch

Just try being cool to everyone all the time, and man if we could all learn how to just be excellent to each other, we wouldn't even need these systems of control in the first place...

It's a shame that the bad guys do not have any concept of that. The ones that have the yolk on your neck are closer than a corporate boardroom and get in your business more than the government.

I say watch out for the snakes. If they steal and lie in so called "good times" then what do you think they will do in "bad times".

[edit on 29-6-2008 by Siren]

reply to post by maus80


I will make sure I have all credit cards completely paid off by August 29th. Thank god I dont have a mortgage or car loan.

Originally posted by maus80
Some of you are missing the bigger picture, which tends to make me more skeptical, because I would think people who would believe something like this would know the reasons behind it...

If there were a second great depression, it would mean a massive calling in of debt, and the money people have would suddenly be no good for paying off that debt. Many, many people would lose their houses and land, and those houses and land would become the property of international banking entities.

This is the real danger. Thank you, maus80 for pointing this out.

Everyone with any sort of credit debt (credit card debt, mortgage) will be in real big trouble. I know a real powerful psychic who a year ago told me to pay off my credit cards (She didn't say why. They never do. They're not supposed to give out too much information.) I know I don't have to worry about my future because I am very fortunate to have a job that will be immune from the calamity. But I really worry about every one else, including my family and the people I love. I can't help them all.

Look, the financial institutions in the US got a lot of foreign investors and banks to bail them out of the mortgage crisis. They never talk about this on the news here. What if part of that agreement to bail them out was to make sure that their is real punishment for the people who don't pay their mortgages and credit card bills? People don't lose money easily. It's really naive and arrogant to think that the world as a whole would let us prviledged and spoiled Americans just get away with not paying our debts, get away scott free, while most of the world is in poverty and has been in poverty for hundreds of years.

It might be considered justice for the people who default on their loans and who don't pay their mortgages to actually lose their houses to the new middle class (people with money from other countries).

Remember how Business works. Corporations are entities, like real people...except that these entities don't give a crap about people, and they are not sentimental and compassionate as a norm. In New York City, there are many foreigners with money coming to buy properties. A few months back, there were stores in The Village that would only accept the Euro for payment.

This may sound really wild and far fetched, but maybe we are being replaced, literally.


[edit on 29-6-2008 by windwaker]

Originally posted by YAHWEH333
... in a giant gassoline condom.

Wait. What?

This is the first time I read every post on a long thread. Based on my read I feel that 75% of the posters feel that something is amiss, or severely problematical. About 25% of the posters feel that this is more gloom and doom stuff. Personally I don't feel that the future is carved in stone. Even if a really big problem arises, how we handle it can make a huge difference in the outcome. The economy is threatened, I hope things work out OK.

Originally posted by windwaker
I know a real powerful psychic who a year ago told me to pay off my credit cards (She didn't say why. They never do. They're not supposed to give out too much information.) I know I don't have to worry about my future because I am very fortunate to have a job that will be immune from the calamity.

Just to add, the psychic told me in July of 2007 that I would have a lot of money when most people don't.

[edit on 29-6-2008 by windwaker]

[edit on 29-6-2008 by windwaker]

Going back to the 1st post on this thread.
The name "halliburton" kind of struck a chord with me and i have been sitting here for the past few hours trying to think where i have heard that name,and now i remember.
I live in the uk,and 2 weeks ago there was a a program aired on tv here about Halliburton,seems that they were given a 23 billion dollar contract to
take over the supplies of the u.s army in Iraq,but it would appear that the money has gone missing(skimmed off by various people).
Seems that it was Bush jnr that made sure the contract was given to Halliburton.
I missed the last part of the program as i had to go to work so i dont know about the rest of the program.

Things are just as bad in the uk as they seem to be over in the states.
There is a credit crunch here too,people are losing there homes on a daily basis,the house market is falling at an alarming rate,millions now have negative equity and its gonna get worse.
Fuel prices going up daily to the point that fuel theft is on the rise big time,
folk cant afford to heat their home properly in the winter months.
Food prices are going through the roof so much that major supermarkets are now having price wars,they are all introducing budget weekend shopping where they lower the price food(bread,butter,fruit etc).

There is no doubt the world is a real # place to live in at the moment,but i have to agree with some posters here that there are way too many doom and gloom merchants on here that post about "The End" and IMO if you read too much of this stuff,then eventually you are going to start believing it without actually thinking about it.

Originally posted by dgtempe
Yes, well, if this is true,

Halliburton's prison camps in America
Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), a Halliburton subsidiary, has been awarded a $385 million contract to construct a huge facility at an undisclosed location to hold tens of thousands of Bush's "unlawful enemy combatants." Americans are certain to be among them.

Jr. is planning to REMAIN as president- Dictatorship will be the order of the day.

Will he encarcerate the entire nation? Put us to death? Starve us?

Hmmm.... Hitler comes to mind.

Considering we brought many Nazi scientists over after the war, the vatican did the hitler nazi salute in public and the Bush and Co. had connections to Nazi Germany. You might just be onto something.

Heres the interesting thing. It seems they have learned from their mistakes in Nazi Germany so they came up with the Kinder Gentler Nation(Nazi Germany). Rather being overtly in your face and hauling many of us off to camps, they will simply kill us with illusionary threats that they create and run. (Finances, Viruses, Terrorism, and gutting your mind etc)

With all fairness to doom and gloomers, me admittedly being one of them...Where else can we go to air our concerns and outlook other than ATS?

I can't express how I feel about our situation to people in my life. Not to people at work, or my family or my friends. I have to put on a happy face and lie to them every moment of every day, because they will not have it any other way.

We need to be able to voice our concerns, no matter how pessimistic they are, here at ATS because it's our only way of communicating with others who may understand our point of view, and who may be able to help us get out or avoid a bad situation.

For instance, if maus80 had not suggested the dangers of not paying credit debt before a potential economic crash, I would not have taken my instincts to do so seriously.

Many people here in the US are falling behind in paying off credit card debts because of the rising costs of living, even people with good incomes. They report this on the news, but they don't report the consequences, because the news media is interested in ratings and not having people turn the channel on them out of disgust.

There needs to be a place for people to go to be truthful and honest with each other. So far ATS is the only place that I have found.

It should be 100% okay to be "doom and gloom" here.

reply to post by windwaker


Very well said. We perpetuate this conflict doing just that..going to work with a smile and playing the "Its a wonderful life" game and lying to one another day in and day out. We need a place to be honest and vent our true thoughts

Maus80, you bring up a very good point about debt being called in. I am wondering if you have any sources on that? Not trying to debunk you, I am interested in making sure that that is what will happen.

Can they call in their debt just like that? Can they really insist you pay off your mortgage immediately or else? Or are you talking about people losing their jobs and not being able to make their payments?

I am concerned because we are living on my husband's retirement check and we still owe on our house. If we lose that pension check we won't be able to pay our mortgage - this is why I'm asking. THanks for any information you can offer.