August 2023: Does the US Economy Unravel?

Economic indicators not looking any better - OUTSIDE the government data

From Zero Hedge (Schiff Gold)

Freight matters. It is the very way most, if not all, of 1st world humanity survives daily. The grocery store (Walmart, Aldi’s, Kroger, Target, et.al.) is so programmed into our heads, we go there in very predictable patterns, while major cities make (or generally restrict) growing one’s own food, nearly a thing of the past.

One remembers that time in 1980-1981, when my parents planted a “recession” garden at our home: 1301 Old Cowan Road, Winchester, Tennessee. We grew tomatoes, carrots, watermelons, cantaloupe, cucumbers, radish and peppers. My mom canned the hell out of tomatoes and made plenty of Pickles as well. Every Wednesday, her day off from work, she had the stove busy sterilizing Ball jars.

By now, the Ball glass cracking in the economy is apparent to all but those most impacted when this thing unwraps into a massive pile of debt-infected dung that no one will want to admit was generated from horrific government policies these last 30 years. Though some, in the laptop class or the administrative government class, don’t dare notice this.

It helps that the private sector made it possible for those 2.8 million plus federal workers and about 19.2 million state workers to stay employed. Sure, there are some in those groups that work very hard, and yes, pay in their taxes that support their jobs. But we know as well, there are a lotta free loaders and top-tier, corrupt Agency grifters that are draining the blood figuratively from the U.S. taxpayer, and literally from those neo-Ukrainians we easily goaded into a prolonged confrontation with Russia. Again, put on the U.S. taxpayer’s Black-n-Blue (B&B) Credit Card controlled by people we never voted for: The Federal Reserve. (Congress likely contains many, many people we didn’t vote in either. If you believe in that sort of thing.)

That private sector (that makes things other than voluminous paperwork that is highly classified) is faltering as well. From Schiff Gold:

According to data from Moody Investment Services, 55 American-based companies defaulted on loans through the first half of 2023. That was a 53% increase over the total number of defaults in 2022.

US companies accounted for the majority of worldwide defaults through H1. Globally, 81 firms failed to pay loan obligations.

Moody’s projects that corporate defaults will continue to surge with the default rate coming in at 4.7% globally. In the worst-case scenario, defaults could rise as high as 13.7%, surpassing the number of defaults in 2008.

A Deutsche Bank study projects defaults for US high-yield debt will peak at around 9% in late 2024. For comparison, the high-yield default rate was a mere 0.5% in 2021 and 1.3% in 2022.

As our B&B Credit Card interest rate rises, so too does the problem of interest payments and credit creation as well. Schiff Gold remarks that:

Rising interest rates coupled with tightening on lending.

Over the last 15 years, corporations could generally get financing for 4 to 6%. The interest rate has surged to between 9 and 13%.

As corporations have this issue, so does the U.S. government. (Though not really, until the hyperinflation kicks in, and people do what they do when hunger meets no-food reality.) The interest payment on our outstanding debt will be at $1,000,000,000,000 plus this forthcoming fiscal year.

That is more than the U.S. government has generously allocated to our “woke-as-f*ck, 33-genders and will transition for FREE!” Military. And we outspend the the next 15 or so countries just to leave billions in our equipment in Afghanistan and run out of bullets for Ukraine. Imagine that!

But no worries there! Hunter Biden got his all upfront!

Next up: Taiwan?

The takeaway: You best be canning and storing up food like a doomsday prepper! Or even, a Woodpecker!