by Michael Snyder, The Economic Collapse Blog:
A lot of people tend to use the phrase “here we go” when they think that something really good is about to happen, and others tend to use it when they think that something really bad is about to happen. Needless to say, in this case I am using the phrase “here we go” as my overall theme for 2023 because I believe that we are going to be facing a really rough year. I expect that so many of the trends that have been percolating throughout 2022 will greatly accelerate over the next 12 months. So if you were not pleased with 2022, it is likely that you are really not going to enjoy what is ahead of us in 2023.
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I certainly don’t need to tell any of you that 2022 was a very tough year for the economy. It truly was a year when “everything started to fall apart”, and lots of prominent voices on Wall Street are now warning that things will get even worse in 2023.
But if the Federal Reserve were to suddenly reverse course and begin lowering interest rates, that would help the short-term economic outlook a great deal.
Unfortunately, that isn’t going to happen. In fact, Fed officials are openly telling us that they expect interest rates to remain elevated for “some time” to come…
Federal Reserve officials reaffirmed their commitment to combating inflation at their December meeting and indicated that interest rates could remain elevated for “some time” until there is clear evidence that consumer prices are falling.
Minutes from the U.S. central bank’s Dec. 13-14 meeting released on Wednesday showed that policymakers worried that investors and financial markets could misinterpret their decision to raise interest rates more slowly as a sign they were ending their campaign to bring prices under control. Officials stressed that the smaller rate hike – 50 basis points, compared to the previous fourth 75-basis point-increases – “was not an indication of any weakening” and warned of continued risks on the inflation front.
So there is no hope on the horizon, and higher rates will continue to crush economic activity for the foreseeable future.
And with each passing day, what is happening to the economy is becoming clearer and clearer. For example, we just learned that Salesforce will be laying off approximately 8,000 workers…
Salesforce plans to lay off about 10% of its workforce, or nearly 8,000 employees, and reduce its office space as tech companies cut costs amid concerns about the economy.
In a note to employees Wednesday, Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff said the move comes as customers take a more cautious approach to spending as the economic “environment remains challenging.”
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
There will be many more layoffs during the weeks and months to come.
Another trend that I will be watching very closely in 2023 is the deterioration of faith in our politicians and in our governmental institutions.
The drama that is playing out in Washington right now is a perfect example of what I am talking about. Kevin McCarthy is a prototypical “swamp creature”, and that is why the establishment loves him. As Speaker of the House, McCarthy would be in charge of keeping the wheels of corruption in motion. There is so much campaign money that needs to be funneled in the right direction, so many important favors that need to get done, and so many critical deals that need to be orchestrated.
The Washington establishment can’t afford to have someone with principles as Speaker of the House, and so they are going to keep pushing for McCarthy.
Of course McCarthy is deeply unpopular outside of Washington, but so was Nancy Pelosi.
Sadly, that doesn’t really matter, because we we are not supposed to have a say in these battles.
But the American people are getting fed up. They can see the endless corruption that is going on, and the popularity of both parties is sinking.
And the truth is that politicians from both parties have been lying to our faces over and over again.
For many of our politicians, lying is as natural as breathing is.
Unfortunately, we have gotten to a point where most of our politicians have lost all of their credibility, and a population that no longer has faith in the system is going to be exceedingly difficult to govern.
I also expect 2023 to be a year of great natural disasters.
Throughout 2022, there was just one historic disaster after another. It seemed like I was constantly writing about droughts, famines, wildfires, hurricanes, giant storms, earthquakes, volcanoes and tornadoes.
Unfortunately, I believe that the 12 months that are ahead of us will be even worse.
If you doubt this, just consider what has been happening over the past few weeks.
In late December, a colossal “bomb cyclone” brought a “once in a generation storm” to the Midwest. In fact, the blizzard that we witnessed in Buffalo was the worst storm in the entire recorded history of the city.
Just as we were recovering from that, a mammoth “atmospheric river” slammed into the west coast. Some parts of California received more than four feet of snow, and there was catastrophic flooding in other areas.
Now here we are just a few days later, and another “bomb cyclone” is about to hammer California. According to the National Weather Service, this is going to be a “truly brutal” storm…
Another powerful storm, known as a bomb cyclone, is hitting the California coast and the National Weather Service in the Bay Area is warning residents that the “truly brutal” system needs to be taken seriously.
The system could trigger “immediate disruption to commerce, and the worst of all, likely loss of human life,” forecasters say. It comes on the heels of a round of record-breaking rainfall that slammed the same area over the weekend.
I have never seen two immensely powerful storms hit California so close together.
There will be “widespread flooding”, and conditions in some parts of the state will be so dangerous that authorities are actually encouraging people to have “go bags” prepared in advance…
A dangerous storm system is slamming California, with meteorologists at the National Weather Service warning of imminent “widespread flooding, impassible roads, mudslides/landslides [and] rapid rises in rivers/creeks.” The system, which prompted the Weather Service to take the unusual step of urging residents to have “go bags” at the ready and prepare insurance documentation in advance, is set to unleash its harshest conditions Wednesday night into early Thursday.
Virtually the entirety of Northern and Central California is under flood watches and high-wind warnings, with damaging gusts to 60 mph possible. Strong to severe thunderstorms could be in the offing as well, in addition to 2 to 4 inches of rain in the lowlands and more in the mountains. In the highest terrain, the heavy rain will transition to up to 2 to 4 feet of heavy snow. Along the coast, beaches will be battered by large waves and areas of coastal flooding.
I also believe that 2023 will be a year when multiple pestilences run wild all over the planet.
These days, it seems like a different disease is making global headlines each week.
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