Video: Dr. Philippa Malmgren explaining the connection between your investments and all the geopolitical wrangling taking place right now.
The exec sum:
- Leading industrialized nations carry (and continue to pile on) unsustainable levels of debt
- Most options for reducing the debt are non-starters:
- Reduce current spending- Not good for re-election in a democracy
- Reduce future spending by cutting retirement and healthcare benefits- Also politically untenable
- Repudiate debt- Advanced economies run on debt and can’t afford to be cut off from debt markets
- Restructure debt- Again advanced economies can’t afford to cut off from debt markets
- But there is one tried and true method
- …. used since money was invented- inflate your way out via money printing
- Major central banks around the world have all been doing this on steroids since the financial collapse
- This makes the price of things go up, good for producers and investors, not so good for consumers
- Where citizens spend a large portion of their income on food; rising food prices = civil unrest and political instability
- Leaders want to keep their jobs so are determined to secure resources, especially food and energy for their citizens
- Nearby places that have these resources or are routes to these resources look very attractive to those who need their citizens at least not be too unhappy
- Just add military and technological might, presto-
