Careening Car, Meet Cliff

Is our economy headed toward unprecedented disaster?

I will point you back to my 2009 predictions post from last December. I re-read it today to see if I still stand by my gloomy outlook. Indeed I do. I think that some of the geo-political events that I mentioned are in the works right now. I encourage you, if you feel like being depressed, to read that post in its entirety.

For this post I will excerpt what I wrote about the economy then.

Temporary uphill before going off the cliff. In the first half of 2009 we will see a modest recovery in the U.S. economy only to be followed by even more serious financial turmoil and deepening recession. When I say recovery, I really mean a slowdown in the negative growth giving some false hope that the recession may be nearing and end. Instead it will be the beginning of even harder times.

Runaway inflation and unemployment. All this stimulus and cheap money designed to address the slowdown will actually make things worse. It will give us a head fake toward recovery but soon will have the opposite effect. It will lead to runaway inflation beginning in the second half of 2009. This inflation could top double digits and beyond in 2010. Unemployment the same.

More Riots in Europe. What will be hitting us economically will also hit Europe and maybe just as hard. The riots these past weeks in Greece are just the beginning. Ostensibly related to a police shooting, the real cause was economic. Greece is an economic basket case with massive crushing debt. The fact that this rioting has spread to other European cities shows that this frustration is widespread especially among youth. All this is just the beginning of the woes. As the economy dramatically worsens in the second half of 2009, rioting will be more widespread. Italy, France, England, and Germany will not be spared.

I thought it then and after Obama’s ludicrous spending spree, I am now convinced of it. Apparently I am not alone. I came across this video at fellow doom-and-gloomer Karen Hall’s place. Meet Gerald Celente, an economist with an impressive track record. What he says will scare you.