from Hindustan Times
Too Few Appreciate the Dangers of Our Fraudulent Money System
Chris discusses the fraudulent nature of the monetary system, focusing on inflation as a hidden tax, its impact on society, and the role of government and financial institutions.
by Dr. Chris Martenson
Chris Martenson’s Peak Prosperity
We have a money problem, because our system of money is fraudulent.
Fraud
The act of intentionally deceiving someone to obtain a benefit, such as money, property, or services.
In our elected system of government, the way it’s supposed to work is that if or when your elected officials deem it necessary and in the national interest to take some of your money so they can spend it on something, they have to tax it.
A law has to be written, debated and then passed. Over time, the US tax laws have morphed into a colossal pile of impossibly complex code, usually penned not by actual Congressmen, but by special interest lobbyists.
Demand Helped Cause Inflation, but Price Pressure From Stimulus Was Worth Growth
by Ian Hanchett
Breitbart.com
During an interview with Bloomberg aired on Thursday’s “Balance of Power,” White House Council of Economic Advisers Chair Jared Bernstein stated that “strong demand” did help cause inflation and he accepts that the upward pressure on prices from COVID stimulus was worth it, but inflation was about the same in every G7 country, “and they all had different fiscal and monetary policies. So, I think it’s a mistake to assign too much of that increase to fiscal policy. And I think the Republican argument is fundamentally undermined by that international comparison.”
Bernstein said, “The president realized, quickly, that it was snarled supply chains that helped cause that inflationary spike, in part, along with strong demand. And unsnarling those chains was going to be really important. But the thing that the president recognized was that we also have to worry about costs, the price level, not just inflation. And that’s why, starting shortly after that peak, we started talking about what we were doing to lower costs.”
On the Road to Hyperinflation (Gold and Silver) – Daryl Montgomery
Montgomery’s concerns about hyperinflation and his recommends to invest in gold and silver.
by PR
Jerusalem Post
In a recent interview with Natural Resource Stocks, gold and silver expert Daryl Montgomery warned of a potential hyperinflationary event in the United States. Montgomery’s comments come as the U.S. economy continues to grapple with rising inflation and a growing national debt.
“We are on the road to hyperinflation,” Montgomery said. “The government is printing money at an alarming rate, and the national debt is out of control. This is a recipe for disaster.”
Montgomery also warned that the current economic situation is fragile and could easily lead to a recession. He pointed to the rising cost of living, the war in Ukraine, and the ongoing supply chain disruptions as factors that could trigger a downturn.
All the Data Confirms Stagflation
by SchiffGold.com
LewRockwell.com
On Wednesday, Peter marked his return to the Peter Schiff Show studio. He tackles the most recent batch of 2025 economic data, highlights inflation signals in commodity prices, and comments on President Biden’s legacy as his term comes to a close. Donald Trump is set to take the reins on Monday, and Peter also analyzes the latest from the president-elect.
To start the show, Peter praises Trump for what appears to be a behind-closed-doors negotiation of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Despite his strengths, Trump is unlikely to solve America’s economic troubles:
CPI Triggers Bond Rally, Disclosure Season is Here
Bond markets rallied unexpectedly following the CPI release, while disclosure season heats up with pivotal insights into inflation, banking trends, and shifting global confidence in the dollar and gold.
by Dave Fairtex
Chris Martenson’s Peak Prosperity
Consumer Economy
Retail Sales (RSAFS); $729B +3.3B (+0.45% m/m)
Industrial Production (INDPRO); +0.91% m/m
Producer Prices (PPIACO); +0.16% m/m
CPI All Urban (CPIAUCSL); +0.39% m/m
Retail Sales made a new all-time high, and it may be keeping up with inflation. Industrial production jumped higher – but it is not at a new all-time high. Still, the move is a positive sign, and not recessionary.
Producer prices (the old index, not the new one) didn’t change much. PPI is linked closely to energy.
Lastly, CPI rose 0.39%; annualized, that’s 4.68%. Since all the bureaucrats do is lie, this is an incredibly inflationary signal. Perhaps instead we should focus on “core CPI” (which removes the “useless” food & energy components – who needs them?), which rose just 0.23% this month, or 2.7% annualized.
Wolf’s take here:
Inflation and Insolvency Causing Interest Rates to Rise
by Michael Pento
FX Street
US corporations’ hiring plans last year totaled 769,953 workers, the fewest since 2015, according to the labor research firm Challenger, Grey, and Christmas. Private sector data shows that the need to hire new employees for all of last year was the lowest in nearly a decade. The ADP report showed that there were just 122k jobs created in December. We also have the private data from the Institute of Supply Management. The ISM manufacturing survey showed the employment subcomponent was 45.3, which means employment is in contraction and contracting faster. Also, the ISM service sector survey showed that job growth was barely in expansion territory at 51.4.
But then we have the official government information coming from the Labor Department. Initial jobless claims and the monthly Non-farm Payroll report have been remarkable pieces of misdirection and fiction. The benign initial claims figures could result from fewer people being hired, so fewer people are eligible to file unemployment insurance claims. However, what is the excuse behind the constant need to adjust the initial NFP report number lower, which will surely be the case once again for the December figure?
Biden: I Ignored Summers’ Inflation Warnings ‘to Instill Some Confidence’ in People, Deal with COVID
by Ian Hanchett
Breitbart.com
During an interview with MSNBC aired on Thursday’s broadcast of “The Last Word,” President Joe Biden stated that he decided to proceed with massive stimulus spending despite warnings that it would create inflation by people like Harvard Professor Larry Summers because “I looked at the practical need for us to instill some confidence in the American people that we can grow this economy.” And argued that it made sense to spend to take care of the coronavirus pandemic.
Host Lawrence O’Donnell asked, [relevant exchange begins around 26:55] “I want to bring this down to something about your presidential decision-making in that entire range of domestic policy decisions, of which there were so many. And I’m particularly interested in Joe Biden versus Larry Summers.
ECB Faces a Problem: Euro Area Services Inflation Stuck at 4.0% for 13th Month. CPI Accelerates Further, as Energy & Durable Goods Stopped Plunging
by Wolf Richter
Wolf Street
Inflation far from over. ECB risks throwing fuel on top of it.
Services inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro accelerated to +4.0% in December, according to Eurostat today. This marks the 13th month in a row that the services CPI has been in the 4.0% range, roughly two to four times what prevailed before the pandemic (between +1% and +2%), and two full percentage points above the peaks before the pandemic and not making any progress at all (red in the chart below).
On Joe Biden’s Last Day, the U.S. is Dangerously Close to the Point of No Return [Podcast]
by James Hickman
Schiff Sovereign
It’s hilarious how Joe Biden spent his entire four year administration using tech companies to suppress dissent and censor critics. He now claims those same tech companies are a threat to democracy.
He just awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to billionaire George Soros, who notoriously uses his money to meddle in elections and fund ultra-woke leftist politicians. But billionaires who fund causes on the right are… a threat to democracy.
Biden further believes that he is not responsible for any of the inflation of his tenure, and he expresses no concern about his massive deficit spending and debt accumulation.
Javier Milei Slashes Argentina’s Inflation in Just One Year
Austerity measures and bold economic reforms led to the country’s lowest inflation rate in over four years.
by Katarina Hall
Reason.com
Argentina’s annual inflation rate fell to 117.8 percent in 2024, marking a significant drop of 93.6 points compared to the record 211.4 percent inflation rate of 2023. The sharp decline signals a significant turnaround for Argentina’s economy under President Javier Milei.
In December 2024, inflation stood at 2.7 percent, Argentina’s National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC) claimed in a new report. While slightly higher than the record low of 2.4 percent in November, Economy Minister Luis Caputo attributed the uptick to “seasonal factors” tied to the holiday season and the start of summer vacations.
Despite the minor increase, December marked the third consecutive month in which prices rose by less than 3 percent. The data “confirms the disinflation process is continuing,” Caputo posted on X following the report’s release.