EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN

These are just some of the news stories two years into the current depression:

"The Secret Service is investigating two Twitter users who, apparently angered by the passage of the health care reform bill, took to the Internet Sunday to call for the assassination of President Obama.

"ASSASSINATION! America, we survived the Assassinations and Lincoln & Kennedy. We'll surely get over a bullet to Barrack Obama's head," wrote one Twitter user, who goes by the handle Solly Forell, and identifies himself as a conservative blogger and "'authentic' African American."

Soon after the first post, Forell tweeted another message actively encouraging someone with a "clear shot" to kill the president."
ABC

"Authorities are trying to find out who threw bricks through windows and doors at two Democratic Party offices in western New York before Sunday's health care vote.

Monroe County Democratic Committee officials say a brick shattered glass doors at the party's headquarters in Rochester on Saturday or Sunday. No one was in the building at the time. Rochester police are investigating."
NY Times

"At least two people were seriously assaulted as hundreds of people gathered on South Street Saturday night during another flash mob.

Surveillance video shows hundreds of people invading the intersection of 8th and South Streets, filling the street and surrounding a vehicle at about 9 p.m."
CBS3

Now. let's go back in time to 1931, two years into the "Great Depression":

"January -- Texas congressman Wright Patman introduces legislation authorizing immediate payment of "bonus" funds to veterans of World War I. The "bonus bill" had been passed in 1924. It allotted bonuses, in the form of "adjusted service certificates," equaling $1 a day for each day of service in the U.S., and $1.25 for each day overseas. President Hoover was against payment of these funds, saying it would cost the Treasury $4 billion.

February -- "Food riots" begin to break out in parts of the U.S. In Minneapolis, several hundred men and women smashed the windows of a grocery market and made off with fruit, canned goods, bacon, and ham. One of the store's owners pulled out a gun to stop the looters, but was leapt upon and had his arm broken. The "riot" was brought under control by 100 policemen. Seven people were arrested.

Resentment of "foreign" workers increases along with unemployment rolls. In Los Angeles, California, Mexican Americans found themselves being accused of stealing jobs from "real" Americans. During the month, 6,024 of them were deported.

March -- Three thousand unemployed workers march on the Ford Motor Company's plant in River Rouge, Michigan. Dearborn police and Ford's company guards attack, killing four workers and injuring many more.

December -- New York's Bank of the United States collapses. At the time of the collapse, the bank had over $200 million in deposits, making it the largest single bank failure in the nation's history."
PBS

We are starting to see history repeat itself once again. Social unrest is rearing its ugly head across the country, mostly from the left but some from the right. I would say this is political in nature, just like the "bonus marches" in 1932 which were the result of Hoover's refusal to pay.

Food riots are becoming a distinct possibility. There is a bunch of credible evidence that we are going to see food shortages this year. This is because the government has manipulated the markets in an attempt control inflation. The other problem is that farmers depend on loans to get their crops in. The problems of the lack of available capital that are plaguing other small business could severely impact farmers.

"Early in 2009, the supply and demand in agricultural markets went badly out of balance. The world experienced a catastrophic fall in food production as a result of the financial crisis (low commodity prices and lack of credit) and adverse weather on a global scale. Meanwhile, China and other Asian exporters, in an effort to preserve their economic growth, were unleashing domestic consumption long constrained by inflation fears, and demand for raw materials, especially food staples, exploded as Chinese consumers worked their way towards American-style overconsumption, prodded on by a flood of cheap credit and easy loans from the government.

Normally food prices should have already shot higher months ago, leading to lower food consumption and bringing the global food supply/demand situation back into balance. This never happened because the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), instead of adjusting production estimates down to reflect decreased production, adjusted estimates upwards to match increasing demand from china. In this way, the USDA has brought supply and demand back into balance (on paper) and temporarily delayed a rise in food prices by ensuring a catastrophe in 2010.

It is absolutely key to understand that the production of agricultural goods is a fixed, once a year cycle (or twice a year in the case of double crops). The wheat, corn, soybeans and other food staples are harvested in the fall/spring and then that is it for production. It doesn’t matter how high prices go or how desperate people get, no new supply can be brought online until the next harvest at the earliest. The supply must last until the next harvest, which is why it is critical that food is correctly priced to avoid overconsumption, otherwise food shortages occur."
Market Skeptics

Now we move onto jobs and immigrants. The unemployment rate in America is at or has surpassed 20%. And what is the next thing on the agenda for our President and the Congress?

"Our immigration system is badly broken. Although our borders have become far more secure in recent years, too many people seeking illegal entry get through. We have no way to track whether the millions who enter the United States on valid visas each year leave when they are supposed to. And employers are burdened by a complicated system for verifying workers' immigration status.

Last week we met with President Obama to discuss our draft framework for action on immigration. We expressed our belief that America's security and economic well-being depend on enacting sensible immigration policies.

...Our plan has four pillars: requiring biometric Social Security cards to ensure that illegal workers cannot get jobs; fulfilling and strengthening our commitments on border security and interior enforcement; creating a process for admitting temporary workers; and implementing a tough but fair path to legalization for those already here."
Washington Post

So now, not only are Americans faced with unemployment, social unrest and possible food shortages but our government wants to make it easier for foreign workers to come in and take the few remaining jobs left. And to make sure we're legal we'll be forced to carry biometric I.D. cards.

Soon those cards will be required to travel and to buy. Just like in those old black and white movies where the evil officer always asks, "Your papers, please." Not to mention, for all of you out there that actually still have faith and believe in the Bible (a shrinking minority) it conjures up the whole "mark of the beast" thing. WTF??!!

Just as in 1931 bank collapses are continuing to occur:

"Over the past two Fridays, 3/12 – 3/19/10, the FDIC announced the closings of 10 more banks, bringing this year’s total to 37. Collectively, the 10 banks had reported assets of about $4.4 billion and deposits of about $4.1 billion."
Commodity Online

Unlike 1931, we now have the FDIC to protect us:

"Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said the fund it uses to protect customer deposits at U.S. banks could dry up amid a surge in bank failures, as she responded to an industry outcry against new fees approved by the agency."
Bloomberg

Well, maybe not so much.

How long do you think it will be before we begin to see confrontations between workers and their employers reminiscent of the strikes at Ford in '31? The unions will make sure this happens.

I'm posting this because most people don't read history and don't see the cycles. History repeats and it is doing it again. Go back and look at what happened to our economy after 1931. We are heading down the same path, making the same mistakes yet we expect different outcomes. Well, they'll be different this time, alright. They're going to be worse, a lot worse.

So what I'm saying is, be prudent. Maybe we won't collapse. I pray we won't but the things I see around me say we will. So be prudent. Think in terms of the worst case. What are your plans? How do you protect your family and friends? What do you do if you lose everything? What if most of the people around you are losing everything, too? What does it cost you to at least spend some time thinking about this?

If you come to the conclusion, as I have, that collapse is imminent, then start to do something about it. Prepare yourself, your family and your friends. Even if all you can do is tell people and present an argument. Knowledge goes a long way towards preparation.

Get ready, guys. If history is any indication, the worst is yet to come and it's right around the corner.