MONEY MADNESS -- AUG/SEP 2009 ...
12 Points Regarding the Financial Crisis

• In the history of the world, all fiat currencies have eventually failed. The US dollar is well beyond previous records for the life span of a paper currency not backed by a hard asset.
• The US federal budget deficit for 2009 is projected to be $1.6 trillion, more than three times the previous record.
• The Federal Reserve is now openly buying US government debt—$1.5 trillion (that we know of) by the end of the year—an open sign of the intention to monetize debt.
• China has begun deploying its large dollar holdings to buy contracts for future resources (i.e. things of tangible value).
• China and some other countries are beginning to do transactions in their own currencies rather than dollars.
• There have been $24 trillion worth of direct cash infusions and loan commitments extended to Wall Street and the banking industry in less than one year—an amount that is twice the annual GDP of the entire US. Yet banks are still awash in toxic (worthless) derivates. Some (un-bailed-out) small- and medium-sized banks are now starting to default on derivatives-associated obligations.
• The total amount of derivatives is estimated to be between $700 and $1500 trillion—many, many times the planetary GDP.
• The ratio of "investment return to new debt" has been falling for decades. Extrapolating the data says that the ratio will reach 1:1 in (at most) 3-4 years. This means the current debt-based money system is about to end—or, at a minimum, about to undergo a radical transformation.
• A large number of banks have failed in the last year, almost draining the FDIC's failed-bank insurance pool. This is despite the fact that some of the larger failures were handled with funds other than FDIC funds.
• US manufacturing is still shrinking. US unemployment continues to increase, with the real unemployment rate already at 20%.
• The overall trend in real estate values continues to be down. The coming wave of resets in Alt-A and Option-ARM mortgages will ensure that trend continues.
• There has been no move on the part of those in power to address the real problems in the financial system, or to even talk about them honestly. The mainstream media seems incapable of intelligent reporting, leaving most people unaware of how deep the problem really is. The longer real solutions are delayed, the more likelihood (and severity) of an eventual crash.

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