Well… at least that's what eeeeeeeverybody is saying…at least everybody paid by governments to…errr…"communicate" the good news…yeah… that.
Let's count our blessings.
The USA is having a "strong" bout of growth. China has been "economically stabilized". The Central Bank in EU has taken "strong measures" to "reactivate" and "stimulate" the economy. Japan is sort of OK. Africa is not getting worse. And Asia is rebounding.
Rejoice!
But is it so? To the numbers!
Our first contestant is the GDP. Yes, yes, we know that this number is nothing but dinosaur dung, but at least it gives us some idea of what's going on.
Let's take a look at what it has to say for itself without high folutted interference from "high officials" officiating in their official capacity. Officially, that is.
Well… that doesn't look too shabby. EU is at least not collapsing. US is growing again. India is there, China is growing and even Brazil is not exhibiting such a terrible shape.
You see? You see? Proof positive that our wise people in high government positions have once again thwarted the evil, evil outcomes of free markets. Thanks God that all those planners in Central Banks are looking after our futures. And, of course, we can see this information reflected in… uh… let's say unemployment, right?
Hummmmm…not that great of a picture. Let's see. EU is essentially going nowhere. About the same for Brazil and India. China is getting worse and just about the only country which is improving is US.
Neeeeee… we can dismiss this because… because… well… because you do feel OK, right? You have no problems getting a job or make ends meet. You have no issues paying for your health, food, clothing and shelter, right? You family is just peachy and you are saving regularly for your retirement, not to mention the occasional spending spree, right?
No?
Really?
Neeee… it can't be. The GDP assures us that. For sure. Well… sure enough, the unemployment picture is not nice (actually is a tad ugly), but then again, unemployment statistics are just that, statistics. They don't actually mean anything in real life, right?
Because, you know, you had no problems getting a good job, right?
Because, you know, you had no problems getting decent wages, right?
Oh… you did? And did?
Crap!
Must be your imagination since government spin doctors have assured us time and time again that we are doing juuuuuuuust fine!
Or would you like to know the truth?
Can you handle the truth?
Well… let's assume you can.
Take a look at the plot below.
What do you see? Do you see what we do? No? Fair enough, allow us to explain. What you see is our current Government Debt at the world-wide level as a percentage of the world GDP. What this means is that for every… let's say Euro that the World GDP grows, governments are borrowing 0.8 Euros. That's right. About 80% of our current World GDP is debt, plain and simple.
There is no real GDP growth. It is all smoke and mirrors which have been manufactured on a mountain of debt.
And let's not delude ourselves. The data we used to create this graph is official government data. This is the stuff that the IMF or the World Bank publish. This is what governments publish. You know, official stuff.
And by being official we know it is bullshit. The situation is far, far worse than what those number suggest. But let's take them at face value since they are bad enough.
And this, dear reader, explains why you don't feel like your GDP is growing. This explains why you can't get a decent job. This explains why you never seem to have enough money. This explains why you are feeling more and more desperate.
It is not that you are crazy but that the crazies have taken over your life!
There is no growth. There is no progress. There is only an accumulation of perennial debt. And it is this debt that causes artificial booms and busts or "cascading cross defaults" in high economic gobbledygook. It is the accumulation of this debt that creates poverty and despair. It is the accumulation of this debt that pushes the envelope of our economic health.
Don't kid yourself. Markets (even regulated ones) are quite resilient… but they have a limit. Once they have reached it, and surpassed it, they collapse. We have seen this in 2008 and we will see it again. And again. And again. Until there is nothing more to crash.
And so no. The worst is not over. We are going through the eye of the hurricane which is growing stronger and stronger around us. We are collectively screwed. And the next generation.
And now be a polite kid and say "thank you" to the politicians who got us thus far. Or a f*ck you. Whatever strikes your mood.
Note: please see the Glossary if you are unfamiliar with certain words.