The Economic End Of Europe

“I don’t get history. If I wanted to know what happened in Europe a long time ago, I’d watch Game of Thrones.” – Community

Why do communist governments always fail?  They cease the means of production.

(Memes today are mostly as-found.)

The handling of the war in Ukraine will go down as a historic blunder, rivaled by only a few events in history:

  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand deciding to go cruising down the road in his ragtop,
  • Socrates, who in his last words said, “I drank what??” (thanks, Real Genius), and
  • The forming of the band U2®.

The Western World had already been rocked by the response to COVID-19.  The economic shenanigans required to keep the economy on life support had been bad enough.  The entire debt-based currency system had been lurching back and forth more than Hillary Clinton after quality time with a bottle of gin and her “Madame President” scrapbook.

And bad things are going around in Switzerland, as we’ll see below.  And big trouble may lie ahead for Great Britain:

In truth, the recovery from the Great Recession hadn’t created any real structural changes.  The primary mechanism for preventing utter economic collapse was printing bucketloads of cash and shoving it into the faces of the banks so that they didn’t fail in a catastrophic and sequential fashion.  It isn’t the only time that irresponsible decision-making was rewarded with buckets of greenbacks, but let’s not dwell on Hunter Biden.

Where are we now?

Europe is facing an energy drought – one that (unless Russian gas shipments are resumed fairly quickly) will result in lowered economic output.  How bad?  Some have said, “Great Depression bad.”  The precursors of this can be seen in the cracks we see developing economically:

If the Pope commanded the cash be transferred electronically, would that have been a PayPal® order?

Now, one thing I do know:  religions are really, really good about keeping their eye on their cash.  I wonder if there was some reason that the Pope was wanting this financial move?  Was it because he like making Papal airplanes?  Or, was it because someone had tipped him off?

Why can’t the Pope be cremated?  He’s still alive.

People are betting that Credit Suisse® to fail.  They’re also betting that Deutsche Bank™ will fail.  Why?  When banks lend money to people that can’t pay it back, well, unless the Federal Reserve© comes around to stuff the banks full of cash, they fail.

So, COVID-19 hits, governments around the world print cash, but nothing is physically broken.  We can (sort of) pretend that the world is fine, and whistle through the graveyard and hope that we can squeak out another year of wild naked greased PEZ® parties, elephant rides, and pantyhose for everyone.

Then, Ukraine.  As I’ve said before, with a sane president capable of making good decisions, this would have been solved with a few phone calls, some Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and maybe a few coupons for 50%-off shrimp at Red Lobster™.  Nope.  Biden escalated all of it.

And, again, maybe (probably not, but maybe) in a world with an economy that had underlying actual strength, Biden could have pushed it just like he did and not cratered the entire economy of the West.

But he did.  And now the consequences cannot be avoided.  Interest rates are shooting up.

How high?

Oh, surely we aren’t in a real estate bubble.

Oops.  But at least the international community isn’t panicking.

Oh, they are?  Well, at least Biden hasn’t sold off our energy reserves in a naked bid to influence the 2022 election. 

Oh, he did?  Well, at least Biden has a good understanding of how energy markets work, and how supply and demand sets prices.

Oh.  Well, I guess that’s really scary.  Thankfully, no one is messing around with the fundamentals of reality.

Huh.  I guess my dog just quit.

Well, at least The Mrs. and I had a serious talk about the bedroom.

All foolishness aside, if Europe has an energy drought that lasts three years or more (one of the latest estimates I’ve seen) the results will be as devastating as a war.  Economies need jobs to produce wealth so people can have wild naked greased PEZ® parties, elephant rides, and pantyhose for everyone.

And, despite the magical thinking of some people on the Left, free anything (not just healthcare) isn’t free.  Someone, somewhere, has to work for it to pay for it, otherwise it’s slavery.  Which, I think, is fine for Leftists, because they never imagine themselves the slaves.

But I have faith, faith that the Swiss will save us.

The Swiss have a long and proud history.  This history goes back to at least 1307, or so the legend goes, to William Tell (the guy who shot the apple resting on his kid’s head).  In fact, William Tell and his son were in a bowling league, but the records of what team they were on are now lost to us.  We will never know for whom the Tells bowled.

Author: John

Nobel-Prize Winning, MacArthur Genius Grant Near Recipient writing to you regularly about Fitness, Wealth, and Wisdom - How to be happy and how to be healthy. Oh, and rich.

28 thoughts on “The Economic End Of Europe”

  2. Everything has gone quiet in the news about Nordstream now. It is only a couple of days old and nothing has changed, but it has dropped off the radar. I presume there was a little whisper from on high.

    1. “It is only a couple of days old and nothing has changed, but it has dropped off the radar. ”

      And i thought i was conspiracy minded!

      They were diligently pursuing ALL angles…And Then? HOT Tip on the 1st!

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Las_Vegas_shooting

      Merely a question of priorities.

      They’ll get to the bottom of the pipeline incident eventually. Too.

    2. Exactly. When the biggest story on two continents disappears, the question really should be: “Why?”

  4. It’s likely to be bad – VERY bad. I’m hanging onto my money like Scrooge McDuck. The only expenditure I’ll make is to insulate my house, as I’m living a couple of blocks from Lake Erie, and it’s anticipated that temps will be low, and snow will be plentiful this year. Fortunately, I have an older, turn of the century house, and there are lots of doors to close off rooms to minimize on heat.
    Actually, I lived through this nightmare before in the 70s and 80s, and managed (although I spent a lot of time wrapped in sweaters and blankets).
    Most of the USA is in warmer regions, and will be fine (well, until the spring floods from all that snow accumulation). Europe and Asia are toast. As well as Africa, once the money spigot from China turns off.

  5. We are not toast, but it will get messy. According to the news yesterday, gas storage here is at 80 % of capacity, which is enough for a normal winter. The bad news ist that only half of that really belongs to us. The other half belongs to neighbouring countries that rent space from us. Possession always was 9/10 of the law.

  6. ZeroHedge (I think) had a list of derivatives exposure of all US Banks. One state chartered, local bank has zero. Plan on moving my $$$ there. Given its location, I’d hazard the guess that their loan portfolio is slanted toward agriculture and forestry.

    I think we have anywhere from 1-5 months to arrange our sh*t. Once QE stops, the whole world is toast. Deflation City takes over. And the end of the WEF.

    1. Or the World Economic Forum set this up as so the crash the system?

      Panic the people to have them beg somebody “make it stop”.

      Hey! WE Can with E-dollars, just let us do it, ok?

      What did John Rahm (Obummers right hand man) say “Never let an emergency go to waste, you can do more in an emergency, if needed CREATE that emergency”.

      They openly tell us we will own nothing and be happy. Maybe we should listen?

      1. That’s been my theory for years. Model the US econ on Weimar or Zimbabwe, create as much debt as possible, then crash the economy, and wipe the slate clean (you’ve heard of GESARA / NESARA, right? I only did a cursory review, just enough to realize it isn’t what everybody thinks it is) then the cabal makes the world an offer they can’t refuse – we’ll forgive your debt, you just have to sign the deed over to us. PRESTO – they own everything, we have nothing but digital currency “they” will control (of course, because it’s their country), and you’ll own nothing, and be happy! Actually the last part there I was able to fill in a couple years ago.

        1. Holy Cow!

          FINALLY. Sifting through emails, got to this morning’s ‘Alert’ (purty cool feature) that You had ‘Commented’.

          ‘Cursory’ as well. https://gesara.news/what-is-nesara-gesara.html

          No Time currently to even check the rest of the comments ta see if someone else ALREADY…

          Time tonight though to come back and ketchup. Been thinking ’bout the noahide/bush league thingy as well.

          Thank You!

    2. The average supply line to Europe is in months now. I’m thinking that come July of 2023? Things get real. Delays are already eating up schedules.

  7. And it looks like OPEC plans to slow the spigots down a few notches.

    I’m going to be working OT at work this weekend for the first time in years to pay for the gas I’ll need for my upcoming fall vacation.

    1. Energy is the ONLY thing that keeps a modern economy going. And energy prices are set at the margin.

  8. That “for whom the tells bowled” was a good one mr wilder. I read the comments, I bought gas at costco this week for $6.49 a gallon (cheapest in town usually) and it took $193.75 to fill my truck, most ever. My truck in college had a homemade gas tank under the bed and it could hold 100 gallons. That tank when filled is probably worth more than my first few houses now.

    1. And since everything you wear, eat, buy and so on comes on trucks EVERYTHING will jump even higher as the fuel prices soar.

      Our “Leftist Leadership” can ignore reality, but you and I have to deal with the results.

      In a couple of months unless Europe tells the USA to *-off and makes nice to Russia to get some emergency pipeline repairs and re-open them they will be shivering in the dark.

      Shortly after that the USA will know the joys of unhappy people expressing themselves “Mostly Peacefully” over whatever food and energy they can secure.

      But HEY! You can always cheer on your side of the Military Graft, err Military Sports ball in Ukraine.

      We are so screwed. I never thought America could be brought down so fast with Isaiah Chapter 3 leadership.

  10. ” We will never know for whom the Tells bowled.”

    Just testing to see if it came through as a actual clip of Anthony Hopkins saying: “Well. I certainly didn’t see that one coming”
    or something like that. Or Just a link to same.

    https://youtu.be/6hnaHM7zRkM?t=32

  11. Europe the Final Countdown will be literal under Team Brandon.
    The slow burn to WWIII in the Kraine will intensify as furniture and other kindling will be used to keep warm and videos of how to find firewood are a hot search item in Europastan.
    Banksters will be funding all sides as the house never loses and Zelensky should do a fashion shoot magazine cover on piles of cash.

  12. Now the Kerch Strait Bridges has been Damaged in a Bombing. One Road Span Down, the other Damaged, and a Train carrying Fuel Tankers is Burning on the Rail Span. It is another direct Act of War on Russia, and I doubt it will be more than a few Days before President Putin gets handed a Declaration of War by the Russian Congress. MoA has it Here- https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/10/ukraine-sitrep-recent-incidents-concerning-all-sides.html#more

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