Gloom As Economists Warn That The U.s. Is 'running Out Of Bullets'

[The Masked Tulip]

Gloom as economists warn that the U.S. is 'running out of bullets' and in danger of financial apocalypse

U.S. observers have given dire warnings that the world's number one economy is on the brink of collapse.

High rates of unemployment and a spiraling public deficit have seen economists such as Nouriel Roubini coming forward with predictions of a 'financial apocalypse' in the U.S.

Mr Roubini's views have been thrust to the forefront after he predicted the chaos wrought by the subprime mortgage crisis and the collapse of the housing bubble.

'The U.S. has run out of bullets,' Mr Roubini told an economic forum in Italy earlier this month. 'Any shock at this point can tip you back into recession.'

Other economists are also predicting nightmarish visions of the future.

Boston University professor Laurence Kotlikoff, who warned back in the 1980s of the dangers of a public deficit, lent credence to the gloomy predictions in an International Monetary Fund publication last week.

He unveiled a scenario of an economic clash between superpowers the United States and China, which holds more than 843 billion dollars of U.S. Treasury bonds.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1311679/Financial-gloom-US-economists-warn-financial-apocalypse--signs-growth.html#ixzz0zSNiCaqy

[Take Me Back To London!]

Eh, what's this about financial apocalypse in the US? I thought the financial system had been backstopped.

Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini said the dollar, the yen and the Swiss franc may be a better investment than gold if the world economy slips back into recession.

The other event in which gold prices go up is the risk of a global financial meltdown, and that tail risk has been reduced because we backstopped the financial system, he said.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-03/roubini-says-dollar-franc-may-beat-gold-in-recession.html

Or is the financial apocalypse going to be contained in the US?

Edited September 14, 2010 by Take Me Back To London!

[aa3]

The fed still has lots of ammunition.. but they have to start looking beyond just the federal reserve and at other policies. Like why not put back in a heavily progressive income tax and get the people back to work with massive public works. If all these fat cats insist on paying themselves so much, take most of it back.

And actual reform of government agencies that have become inefficient and getting excessive bureaucracy.

[MarkG]

Like why not put back in a heavily progressive income tax and get the people back to work with massive public works.

LOL. Raising taxes is a great way to turn a recession into a depression... not to mention a great way for the Democrats to ensure they're absolutely massacred in the upcoming election rather than just slaughtered.

And actual reform of government agencies that have become inefficient and getting excessive bureaucracy.

Double LOL. When has government bureaucracy ever been slashed unless it's first catastrophically failed?

[interestrateripoff]

Double LOL. When has government bureaucracy ever been slashed unless it's first catastrophically failed?

Govts never like to give up power.

[bogbrush]

C'mon aa3, you know quite well that the solution to the massive failure of government is more government.

The problem is education, dependency and tyrrany by democracy. While people can be mentally damaged, trained to behave like domestic animals and then allowed to vote themselves stuff there's no sorting this out.

I'm beginning to think that as full collapse won't be allowed we'll just have to go for a full-on Matrix solution. Simon Cowell and Mexican Drug Barons might just save the West from civil war.

[leicestersq]

Does anyone know which bank zerohedge are talking about?

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/one-european-bank-continues-rely-exclusively-fed-generosity-dollar-funding

I guess that everyone in the banking world must know if no one will lend to it. Surprised that it is just the one. Can anyone spill the beans?

[Tired of Waiting]

The fed still has lots of ammunition.. but they have to start looking beyond just the federal reserve and at other policies. Like why not put back in a heavily progressive income tax and get the people back to work with massive public works. If all these fat cats insist on paying themselves so much, take most of it back.

And actual reform of government agencies that have become inefficient and getting excessive bureaucracy.

Yes, I think one of the best policies of the new coalition is the raising of the income tax threshold to £10k.

[Traktion]

The fed still has lots of ammunition.. but they have to start looking beyond just the federal reserve and at other policies. Like why not put back in a heavily progressive income tax and get the people back to work with massive public works. If all these fat cats insist on paying themselves so much, take most of it back.

And actual reform of government agencies that have become inefficient and getting excessive bureaucracy.

If the land/housing boom is what created the ponzi credit and the ponzi savings, it follows that a land value tax should be used to rebalance the economy.

[Agentimmo]

All this doom and gloom.......I guess that's why the NYSE et all keep rising. Imagine what levels they'd be at if some REALLY bad news came along....

<turns off sarcastic mode>

[fluffy666]

All this doom and gloom.......I guess that's why the NYSE et all keep rising. Imagine what levels they'd be at if some REALLY bad news came along....

<turns off sarcastic mode>

If we have a situation whereby vast amounts of money and credit are sloshing around the system, then stocks are a reasonable bet; there is a yield, most FTSE-100 companies should survive most economic shocks (including currency inflation-destruction) and they are liquid.

[aa3]

Yes, I think one of the best policies of the new coalition is the raising of the income tax threshold to £10k.

Same here. One big issue is taxes in the UK have become regressive basically. Gas tax, council tax, VAT and so on hit middle earners way harder than high earners.. and help cripple the consumer spending.

[aa3]

C'mon aa3, you know quite well that the solution to the massive failure of government is more government.

The problem is education, dependency and tyrrany by democracy. While people can be mentally damaged, trained to behave like domestic animals and then allowed to vote themselves stuff there's no sorting this out.

I'm beginning to think that as full collapse won't be allowed we'll just have to go for a full-on Matrix solution. Simon Cowell and Mexican Drug Barons might just save the West from civil war.

Democracy itself seems to be failing. I've never liked the idea of democracy.. I don't want to trust the future of my nation to the average person. Ask the average person something like what our national energy policy should be. And its quite alarming the answer they come up with. That answer is now our national energy policy.

[wonderpup]

The fed still has lots of ammunition.. but they have to start looking beyond just the federal reserve and at other policies. Like why not put back in a heavily progressive income tax and get the people back to work with massive public works. If all these fat cats insist on paying themselves so much, take most of it back.

And actual reform of government agencies that have become inefficient and getting excessive bureaucracy.

The republicans are currently resisting the repeal of tax cuts for the richest people in the country, even though they were supposed to expire anyway.

The truth seems to be that the elites in the US are so consumed with gathering ever more wealth to themselves that they will break the very system that gives that wealth it's meaning and potency.

They are still deeply in love with the idea of trickledown economics, not because it works, but because it's a great story with such a happy ending- why spoil it with the grubby reality of economic collapse?

[oracle]

Gloom as economists warn that the U.S. is 'running out of bullets' and in danger of financial apocalypse

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1311679/Financial-gloom-US-economists-warn-financial-apocalypse--signs-growth.html#ixzz0zSNiCaqy

who said they were going to continue using bullets?,they are rather old-fashioned.