So it happened.
In my predictions in Financial Crisis – It’s Not Over Until It’s Over I was wrong by pinpointing 8/1/2010 as the crest of our economic troubles. The economic tsunami came exactly 1 year later.
I think it is because I have mistaken Mars for a trigger of the events. As I’ve said in my article The Moon, the trigger was the lunar eclipse that came on the darkest day of last year – the winter solstice. It fell on those sensitive degrees, marked by planetary war on American Venus that I have described in Financial Crisis article.
This lunar eclipse made things darker and bigger. Not only our economy has trembled, but the political debacle over debt-ceiling marked the crisis of our government as well.
Our country is in the free fall, just like financial markets, because our government was found to be absolutely inept.
Here I’d like to cite from an article I found on the internet today:
“Economics professor Bradford Delong, from the University of California-Berkeley, says the damage done through the six months of wrangling over the debt ceiling, which analysts note has been lifted 78 times since 1960 and 49 times under Republican presidents, was a distraction the US could ill afford.
Writing in the Australian Financial Review, Professor Delong decries the neglect of all the “useful policies that might have been debated and enacted, but were not”, citing climate change initiatives, policies to boost employment, education and healthcare financing, plus improvements to America’s “decaying infrastructure”. These policies, he believes, would help improve the economy in the long run and bring down unemployment that, according to the US Bureau of Statistics, is at a high of 9.2 per cent. Looming large also was the loss of standing as “conductor of the international economic orchestra”, Professor Delong wrote, warning that if the US can no longer be relied upon as the arbiter of global governance, then the world needs to develop “other institutions for global management” – and fast.”
Well, Chinese are already issuing warnings of dollar devaluation, acting as the financial cop of the world – the title previously reserved for the U.S. government.
We are sliding from our perch of super-power to the “also has been” super fast, and there are not enough grown-ups on the Capitol Hill to save us. I think I was overly optimistic in all my predictions. I think I should revise them as follows:
a) the U.S. is going to be marred in prolonged depression, with real unemployment (counting those who are no longer eligible for benefits) at about 30%. The wage and property deflation are going to make 90% of the population to be so poor as living hand-to-mouth. Meanwhile, groceries, gas and transit costs are going to grow at 10% – 20% inflation rates.
The economy is going to contract until 2014, when it may begin to show some growth again.
The majority of the population will remain poor for many years to come though, as policies and competition over jobs would wipe out unions and, with them, the remnants of the middle class. In other words, we are no longer going to be the consumer society, with 70% of economy depending on consumption.
b) The crime and civil unrest would become much more evident for many years to come.
c) Politics would continue to make our government more and more disfunctional
d) The good news is we are likely to stop making wars abroad
e) Europe is not likely to be spared either. Once Germany is going to find itself unable to carry the rest of the European states, European Union is likely to disintegrate back into miriad of states, and so will the euro.
f) Chinese economy will faulter as well, as dollar and euro falls, but it will survive and will take the super-power title
g)Russia, Canada, Australia, Brazil and India will fair much better, getting stronger over the next decade, while the U.S. and Europe are going to struggle to survive.
h) Africa, Afghanistan and Middle East are going to continue to be the worst places to live in, maintaining the global terror threat.
In other words, it sucks, and whatever Obama or the next administration is going to do is going to be too little too late.
Posts Tagged ‘great depression’
AMERICAN ECONOMY S.O.S.
Posted by Ella Moss on August 9, 2011
Posted in American economy, astrology, economy, FINANCES, global economy, labor market, politics, predictions, Uncategorized | Tagged: Africa, astrological predictions, astrology, Capitol Hill, China, civil unrest, crime, dollar, economy, euro, Europe, financial crisis, global economy, government, great depression, India, mars, money, Moon, Obama, Pluto in Capricorn, politics, predictions, recession, terror, unemployment, war, worry | Leave a Comment »
THE ENEMIES IN OUR MIDST OR HOW TO KILL THE WORLD’S LARGEST ECONOMY
Posted by Ella Moss on June 11, 2011
I just heard on the news that the 3rd Al Queda biggie was killed, giving the U.S. the edge on that murky shapeless war on terror we have been officially waging since 2001.
While I am happy to hear these news, I think that even we were to win the 4 wars (1.this “war on terror”; 2. in Afghanistan; 3. in Iraq; 4. in Lybia), we’ve been waging since the fateful 2001 (and I am not counting the “war on drugs”), we are heading to lose our way of life.
It’s not the democracy I am worried about here, but material comfort and relative peace on the streets (outside of occasional shootings and muggings).
It appears that there has been another war waging, and it is on American economy.
It’s beginnings are murky. But I would trace it as far back as Reagan’s Administration, that first began an unofficial war on unions. Unions make labor-intensive manufacturing very expensive and eat into profits of investors.
Well, nobody likes unions (except for unions’ bosses), so what’s the big deal?
The big deal is that everybody likes the middle class.
The middle class is as essential to any economy, as an engine to a car. Without it, economy is dead.
Even if we were to end up with a few thousands of super rich dudes, while the rest of us would struggle to survive (i.e. the middle class would disappear completely), all the many billions of these super rich would not create the job growth a multi-million population requires. They would invest into emerging markets, not the dying ones.
Why would they create a factory of any kind in the U.S., where people are struggling to stretch a dollar to pay rent, bills and buy groceries and their discretional income is so tight that all they can afford is cheap Chinese goods in Walmart, when these super rich investors can build a factory in Brazil, or India, or same China, where people are eager to spend their increasing earnings?
By the way, is not it one of the main reasons, that the numbers of unemployed right now stay where they are despite us giving continuous tax breaks to these super rich?
Yes, the second attack on American economy began during the prosperous 1990s, when Clinton Administration signed away any kind of protection of American labor force, and internet was born (internet makes outsourcing a breeze).
Suddenly, American labor force had to compete with the labor force of other countries, and American people could no longer ask for wage increase, because the majority of the world’s labor force was so much cheaper and just as good.
It took about 10 years for Americans to notice that their incomes were stagnating while their bills grew. They kept waiting for their personal prosperity to come, while changing jobs, professions and investing into 401K and increasingly expensive real estate.
But Clinton Administration also approved the deregulation of financial markets.
Suddenly, the credit was so cheap and so available, that the American people have not noticed that their actual discretional income was dwindling to nothing.
Why worry, if one could still buy a McMansion, and buy even more stuff by turning the McMansion into an ATM machine?
Yes, 1990s were prosperous. The economy was booming as people were eager consumers. The problem was that everything was bought on credit rather then with actual money.
Everyone was expecting the actual income to catch up, as it used to.
But it did not, because so many jobs have either left the country or paid as much as in other (read CHEAPER) countries.
Eventually, the credit bubble had to burst, and it did in 2008.
If the federal government did not pump money into the banks that lost the money by lending it to population so indiscriminately, The economy would have simply collapse like it did in Argentina in 1990s.
Americans were saved, although suddenly they came face to face with their economic reality and realized they were so much poorer than a decade ago.
So many of them have lost their job, that those who did not no longer dared to ask for a wage increase or benefits or union perks. In fact, they started giving up their last benefits and perks just so they could keep a job.
And that is when the final attack on American economy began.
Since it was now the federal government that was pulling the economy down the road as its engine, the middle class, stalled, the enemies in our midst began to attack the federal government.
The ideas Obama put on the table were nothing short of brilliant: invest federal dollars into aging crumbling infrastructure and green economy – labor-intensive enterprises that must hire domestic labor force. Every created job would spur on 10s of other jobs, and the economy would begin humming again.
But the enemies in our midst thought otherwise. Suddenly, federal deficit began to be used as a panic-inspiring weapon of choice.
Of course, the surplus that Clinton Administration left the country with would have been a much better deal. But if credit is sparse everywhere else, how else would you come up with money needed to pump the economy?
The enemies in our midst said, “Let starve the federal government of tax income, let’s keep taxes low so the few super rich would invest their money into economy. The government is too big and lives beyond its means. Its deficit is going to bankrupt our children”.
Americans love their children, so anything threatening the kids works as a great scarecrow.
They are also badly educated (read my American Education Reform ).
So Obama’s proposals were decimated, the government began shedding its work force, unemployment came back to its pick numbers, and unions everywhere lost their power and benefits.
Now there is no one to pull our economy from the brink. Those who are employed, work at REDUCED wages, that are getting closer to the 3rd world range.
Meanwhile, every single life staple, like groceries, rent, cable bills, insurance, etc. doubled or more in price (as compared to 10 yrs ago or less). Even those who work at median salaries have less money to buy desirable but unnecessary things.
This means that businesses producing and selling anything that is not a life staple make less profit so they begin to shed their labor force.
The less there is labor force, the less income the government gets. Since deficit is now a dirty word, the government has no choice but shed its work force and cut services to the impoverished population.
Now the time came to put the final nails into the coffin of what used to be the largest world economy: refuse to raise the ceiling on federal credit.
Once the federal government loses its credit-worthiness, watch American economy collapse into THE GREATER THAN THE GREAT DEPRESSION ditch.
The idiot dream of labor-intensive manufacturers like Koch brothers would come true:
labor in America would become as cheap as in Africa.
Unfortunately, the American workers would no longer be able to afford using the toilet paper they manufacture for Koch brothers. Like their African brethren, they would have to use tree leaves to wipe their asses. So Koch brothers would eventually go broke too.
No, it is not the federal deficit that threatens the future of our children. It is our inability to discern the enemies in our midst.
As for the scary federal deficit, it was Reagan administration that first racked it up into the trillions. Then Bush administration turned the surplus into another multi-trillion dollar debt. No one screamed of deficit while republicans were in power. The congress did not attack neither of the republican presidents for taking us into expensive wars (Reagan’s Panama blitz, Nicaragua fiasco, etc.; Bush’s Afghanistan, Iraq and the amorphous war on terror).
No, I am not happy at all with Lybia war either. I just don’t think it matters much anymore.
Like I predicted in 2008, “FINANCIAL CRISIS – IT’S NOT OVER UNTIL IT’S OVER”
Posted in American economy, economy, education, education reform, FINANCES, global economy, labor market, opinion, personal finance, politics, predictions, Uncategorized | Tagged: Al Queda, Bush, deficit, economy, financial crisis, global economy, great depression, India, Iraq, money, news, Obama, outsourcing, politics, predictions, Reagan, recession, taxes, unemployment, war, worry | 5 Comments »
ON TAXES, UNIONS, JOBS AND DANGEROUS POLITICS
Posted by Ella Moss on October 25, 2010
1. JOBS
What job would you prefer:
a) a job that has annual wage increase specified in the contract, over-time pay for all work done beyond 40 hours on weekdays, all benefits and pension one can live on after 10 years or so of service
b) 60+ hours per week, high stress job with no benefits, no over-time pay, no pension whatsoever and wages just above minimum specified by congress
If you said “a”, you prefer either government or a union job, if “b” (WHO ARE YOU?!) – you’re gunning for a private sector.
Since it is a buyer market, whether we talk real estate or jobs, that’s how private sector job looks like right now.
Our government is putting even more teeth into the buyer market by trying to cater to those we do not name who want less government, less unions, and, yes, less taxes. The government cuts down on hiring, and laying off as many people as possible. Our future governor Cuomo promises to cut agencies and authorities by another 20%. New York 18b panel is going to put another 1000 lawyers on the street.
Last December, a partner of a medium size law firm told me of a job interview for a associate position:
“She told me, ‘I was making $120,000 at so and so. I’ve said, ‘We do not pay above $75,000. And she took it!”
I would not be surprised, that next year he would offer $35,000 for the same job.
Now, you need at least 7 years of higher education to become a lawyer (all those student loans), and then you take on a 60+ hrs / wk high stress job. It used to be that at least salary was worth it. Not anymore.
Make no mistake, employers (me included) would really prefer slave labor. So with no competition, we would do our best to get as close to that ideal as possible.
Once “Tea buggers” are elected, we may even pass a slave law in congress.
2.Unions
We all hate unions. They make everything more expensive. Look at MTA: every year we pay more for public transportation despite lack of tangible improvements, while their workers get paid more than lawyers, have all benefits and can comfortably retire at 55 years of age. I personally may never be able to retire at all. And then they even have a nerve to strike once in a while!
Now teachers union is under fire. Just think, once you have a tenure, all you need is to show up at work – working itself is not required.
But do you know that before unions came into being, there was no tangible middle class at all? Do you realize that the U.S. became a prosperous country only when unions gained strength and created huge middle class?
When 90% of people earn subsistence wages only, they have no discretional income to buy all that producers of goods and services want them to buy. So producers cut on production and lay people off, and economy contracts even further. Take a look at how people used to live before unions: their houses hardly had closets (most people had only one or 2 dresses), the houses were much smaller and often 10 people would live in 1 room. Oh, by the way, most people in Africa or Bungladesh, or Mexico still live that way. They have no unions and lots of almost-slave labor.
Do you still want to get rid off unions?
3. TAXES
Like everyone else, I try to pay as little tax as possible. After all, it’s my money that the government takes away. The government is so wasteful, and it has no clue that I need another computer, or that I have to take my kitten to a vet.
But the grown up in me knows that taxes in a democratic society is really a money pool for services we all collectively need like:
schools, public transportation, law enforcement, firefighters, and even a helping hand when we become old and feeble or lose a job, etc.
Sometimes, of course, this money pays for something we don’t like. I don’t like wars. Some don’t like welfare.
But a strong society should have some military might (we do get attacked – 9/11 comes to mind, for instance), and a strong society should take care of its needy (or we may have riots, revolutions, or, at least, whole a lot of crime).
It tickles me that “Mama Grisly” and her brood are so against taxes and government. Alaska gets more government subsidies than any other state. What are they going to do out there once they cut our taxes: eat snow?
So the Republicans and people who drink spiked tea say that stimulus has not worked (even though their leader Bush Jr. approved it first – because they collapsed our economy). They want less taxes, less government jobs and strangle the unions out of existence. In other words, they want to create African way of living in North America (this way they would not have to import slaves, as we would have plenty of them right here).
Interestingly enough, many of them are not rich. They simply drink spiked tea and think they may become so.
They may be faithful followers of trickle-down economics. The latter was not invented by Reagan. It has been in existence until 20th century. But now the rich invest wherever they find the cheapest labor, and it is not the U.S. (yet).
The truly rich, by the way, tend to be democrats and are ready to pay taxes, because they are much better educated and they dig history and economics.
But they are spineless, and as soon as those on spiked tea yell at them, they too begin to talk cutting government (good jobs), unions (good jobs) and taxes that create those good jobs…
Posted in American economy, economy, FINANCES, global economy, labor market, opinion, personal finance, politics, predictions, Uncategorized | Tagged: Bush, economy, economy solutions, financial crisis, global economy, great depression, jobs, money, politics, taxes, trickle-down economics, unemployment, unions | 14 Comments »
1 YEAR OLD PRESIDENCY
Posted by Ella Moss on January 20, 2010
Obama has been our president for 1 year now, and he already got a bum rap. Everyone is discussing how disappointed they are.
Don’t we just love creating celebs and then tearing them apart?
This guy’s major mistake was going for the presidency to begin with. Only a truly crazy, truly stupid (remember that other one?) or truly idealistic person would go for this most thankless job in the world.
Since Obama is obviously sane and smart, he must be too idealistic.
His second major mistake (according to many TV pundits) was saving us from THE GREATEST DEPRESSION and cushioning our financial fall.
Why was that a mistake? According to the TV pundits, this was a mistake because 1) he continued many policies initiated during the previous administration (not enough change), 2) he moved too much to the left (? was not it his platform when he was running?) and created bigger government.
(Personally, I don’t know what else he could have done, when the government was the only one left with the money as banks and insurance companies were collapsing left and right , but I am no pundit)
His third mistake was trying help those stupid insured and uninsured Americans whose medical expense soared and coverage did not hold very well. That did not go too well or too smoothly, or whatever. Does anyone know what’s in that health care reform bill?
(Personally, I don’t think Americans need it at all, since all I am hearing that they would rather pay $30,000/ yr for their medical insurance for a family of 4 -yes, I personally know such a family – and then keep their fingers crossed that their insurance would pay their medical bills when they get sick)
His 4th major mistake was apparently sending troops to Afghanistan after all that peace talk and the Nobel peace prize. Apparently, we are so tired of war, that we don’t care if the terrorists are not.
Oh, yea, the 5th major mistake was not personally watching who was getting on the plane in Nigeria (remember that guy with a bomb in his underwear?)
It is obvious, he has gotten nothing right, and now he is a lame duck.
I’m sure many are guessing now that Haitian earthquake would not have happened otherwise.
What we needed as our president in times like these was a MIRACLE GUY. You know, the one who could give everyone a $100,000+ job, instill brains in every kid born in America, abolish all illnesses, turn every criminal into a born-again righteous Christian and instill immediate peace on Earth.
It’s too bad that no one like that bothered to run. But then, again, the last MIRACLE GUY we know of was crucified on the cross.
Posted in politics, Uncategorized | Tagged: afghanistan, American Presidency, financial crisis, great depression, Haiti, Haitian earthquake, health care, health care reform bill, Jesus Christ, miracle, Obama, peace | 10 Comments »
FINANCIAL CRISIS: IT’S NOT OVER UNTIL IT’S OVER
Posted by Ella Moss on October 2, 2008
So the senate approved the bailout, and the house is soon to follow. Do you think, America, you would be able to exhale soon?
Here come predictions from the pen of an astrologer:
Astrologers base their predictions on horoscopes calculated for the precise time of birth at the place of birth (beginning), because they presume there is certain order in the Universe, and the time and place of birth define our position within that order. The position within the order in turn defines further development, as order limits the possible outcomes to a manageable number. The less there are possible outcomes, the more they become predictable.
Astrologers create horoscope for birth of people, countries, and everything else that has a known beginning.
Although no one can say with certainty they know when the U.S. was born, there is a consensus that this country came into being on or around 7/4/1776. Most of the astrologers favor either the chart with Gemini rising, which places the Moon at 18′ of Aquarius in 10th house, or the chart with Scorpio rising, which places the Moon at 25′ of Aquarius in the 4th house. After 9/11, the other chart, called “Sibly” became popular – because when astrologers are uncertain of the time of birth/ beginning, they attempt to rectify charts (finding more probable birth time) based on dramatic pivotal events. The Sibly charts gives the U.S. Sagittarius ascendant, and places the Moon at 27′ degrees of Aquarius.
All other planets remain in the same degree, because they move much more slowly then the Moon or house cusps. Thus, all three the most popular U.S. horoscopes place Venus at 3′ of Cancer.
Venus is the planet that is always associated with money and relationships. And my predictions of the Horrible Economic Depression (greater than the Great One) are based on upcoming planetary assault on the U.S. Venus.
Interestingly enough, history confirms that conditions are ripe. Here is what Wikipedia says about economic causes of the Great Depression of 1929: “Although its causes are still uncertain, the basic cause was a sudden loss of confidence in the economic future. The traditional explanation is a combination of high consumer debt, ill-regulated markets that permitted malfeasance by banks and investors, cutbacks in foreign trade, and growing wealth inequality, all interacting to create a downward economic spiral of reduced spending and production”. Sounds familiar? Are not we in debt up our ears now? Have not our ill-regulated markets permeated malfeasance by banks and investors? Don’t we have growing wealth inequality? The famous “Trickle-down economy” that keeps on trickling up instead? This is 2008, but, obviously, we do not learn from history.
So here is what the planets say about now, which is the setting for the next 5 years:
The Moon’s nodes are passing over MC/IC axis in the “Scorpio” U.S. chart. In “Gemini rising” chart, they have just past the Moon and are about to pass over MC/ IC axis. The Moon’s nodes going over the luminaries and / or chart’s angles herald major changes of direction that are brought on by a pivotal event.
In the “Gemini rising” chart, Jupiter, “The great Exaggerator”, also opposes the U.S. Sun in the second house of $$$, while the Moon that is reeling from nodal transit rules that $$$ house.
BUT THIS IS JUST A BEGINNING!…
In December of 2008, Pluto settles in Capricorn.
Pluto is so tiny, that it was even demoted by astronomers from planetary status. But astrologers, and all who went through a major Pluto transits and lived to tell about it, know better. Pluto is “the Wrecking Ball” of the zodiac. Its mighty punch is so painful, that we either die or transform.
When it went through Scorpio, its own sign, that deals with abuse, taxes, sex, death and rebirth, we had Reaganomics, and AIDS epidemic. Now Pluto is ending its 13 yrs transit through Sagittarius, the sign of religion, philosophy, foreign relations, higher studies and judicial systems. The costs of colleges went through the roof, religious fanaticism rose to the point of Global War of Terror, and we scaled down democracy by adopting “The Patriot Act” and torture procedures.
Pluto screws with our heads by making us compulsive-obsessive with regards to wherever it is at the moment. When it was in sex, death and taxes sign, we obsessed on those topics. When it went through religion sign, we lost our sobriety on account of faith.
So now it is at the door of Capricorn, the sign of government and corporate structures, of rules and regulations, of fear and ambition. So in the next 15 years, expect us obsessing in fear on rules and regulations, while being overly ambitious, and while all government, political and corporate structures undergo DEMOLITION. Some societies will die, others will be transformed.
By the way, there is another possible U.S. chart, based on letters of John Adams, who pinpoints America’s birth at 7/2/1776 at about quarter to noon in Philadelphia. That chart would have the U.S. Venus at 0′ of Cancer, so the wrecking ball (Pluto) may come to the U.S. economy (Venus) as early as December of 2008.
If any other chart is correct, February is a more likely time of reckoning.
Since economy always dictates politics, we are likely to see global powers falling like dominoes.
By the end of November of 2009, we would begin to cry for mercy, as our economy would get completely stalled: Saturn, the planet of lack and limitations, joins Pluto, the Terminator, in the assault on the U.S. Venus, the planet of Money. It begins to squeeze it from Libra, the sign of relationships and justice. So as global trade gets restructured, we get the foul end of the deal. Saturn would limit our reach into the packets of other countries. We may face the retribution for our misadventures on foreign soil and/ or for amassing huge deficit (read “debt to other countries”).
In 2010, we may begin to exhale, hoping that the worst is behind us, only to be hit below the belt in the summer of that year. I am favoring 8/01/10 as another historic date – when the world is going to shake from the thud of the falling giant hitting the ground.
This is how it is going to come about from the planetary point of view:
By June of 2010, Jupiter and Uranus join forces in Aries and enter the war on the U.S. Venus. You may say, they join the robbery in progress of American public.
Uranus operates by coming out of left field with a sudden shocking occurrence. It rules electricity, and it always aims to shock the system. Jupiter always exaggerates and blows things out of proportion. After all, it is the Planet of Plenty. Put these two together, and you get an immense unexpected shock to the system. Since they are going to square the U.S. Venus, the Planet of Money, we are going to go through an immense sudden expense (another BAILOUT, much bigger than the present one?).
On 8/1/2010, Mars, the planet of war that always acts like a trigger, joins Saturn in Libra in squeezing daylights out of the poor U.S. Venus, while Pluto in retrograde motion is circling around that Venus, and Jupiter with Uranus deliver huge shocks to it from Aries, the sign of war and ragged individualism.
You can envision the conclusion.
By the way, according to known U.S.A charts, the only planetary culprit for Great Depression of 1929 was Uranus, assaulting the U.S. Sun from Aries, with Saturn playing a secondary fiddle in Gemini rising and Sibly charts. Interestingly, Saturn in November of 1929 was traversing the same degrees of Sagittarius, as Pluto does now.
With Pluto being so much mightier than Saturn, the 2010 bro-ha-ha is going to be MUCH BIGGER. Those of us who will live past 2014, will be able to tell the tale, and they would give it an appropriate name. But by 2015, Pluto will be done with the U.S Venus and Sun. Other planets will fall off sooner than that.
Meanwhile, in May of 2010 I am planning to stock up on all non-perishable food I am going to be able to find.
Whoever wins the 2008 elections is going to be at the helm of the wildest ride ever.
As Chinese saying goes, blessed are those who live during interesting times.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: astrology, BAILOUT, debt, economy, finacial crisis, great depression, horoscopes, money, Pluto, politics, predictions, Saturn, senate, the U.S., Venus | 17 Comments »
