by Peter St. Onge, Activist Post:
In the wake of the 2008 Financial Crisis, former chief economist of the IMF Simon Johnson warned that the same dysfunctional policies he saw in his basketcase banana republics had taken hold in the United States.
Johnson warned that if America didn’t act fast, we would plunge into a “Quiet Coup” as the American financial system effectively captures the government, bailing itself out until we run out of money.
Well, we didn’t act fast. In fact, we got worse.
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And here we are.
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Our Bankrupt Financial System
In recent videos I’ve talked about the trillion of distress in the financial system, the common thread being that you, the taxpayer, will be bailing them all out — we saw this in the 2023 bank bailouts, pre-paid in the dark.
Of course, given our $35 trillion in national debt, we can’t afford it. But pay it we will, driving that 35 trillion to, according to the CBO, 50 trillion-plus.
At some point, it gets too big to bail out. Meaning: either hard default — they stop paying interest. Or the more likely soft default — they let inflation rip, melting away the national debt along with our life savings. And between here and there is a wholesale fleecing of the middle class and the working class who rely on them for a job.
The Ignored Warning
So, first, the ignored warning by Simon Johnson. I’m no fan of the IMF — their role is essentially feeding their client dictators fresh drugs at massive taxpayer expense. But one thing the IMF does know is dysfunctional governments.
In his warning, Johnson detailed the typical pattern when countries collapse — when they come in desperation to the IMF.
First, a small group of powerful elites takes over policy. This is typically financial elite, or large companies when the country has them.
Because these elites know they’ll be bailed out, they take excessive risks in good times. An iron law of finance is that risk pays reward. Meaning if you know you’re going to get bailed out, you’d be a moron not to take on too much risk.
If every hand at the poker game is all-in, inevitably you lose. You pass your losses to the taxpayer, and start over with fresh chips, courtesy of the suckers.
