In a comment thread down below somewhere, 'SoD' provided a link to an 'A E-P' article in The Telegraph describing the beginnings of a rush to the exit by the international money-men with 'loadsa dosh' inside Russia. However, whilst reading it (and A E-P is always worth reading) my eye was taken by another article by an equally astute observer of money matters, Mr. Jeremy Warner. In it, he touches upon the miracle, or perhaps, 'magical miracle' is more descriptive, of the by now standard practice of governments to insist that their national central banks print money and lend it to themselves! You only have to read that sentence which is deadly accurate and written in plain English to understand instantly that it is madness.
I should make clear, if it isn't already obvious, that my knowledge of economics is sub-'O'-level. Even so, it seems obvious to me (as it does to Mr. Warner who does know where-of he writes) that all this money printing which began after the global financial crash is a classic example of a patient becoming hooked on pain-killers. Indeed, it is precisely that lack of pain which has worried me since 2008. The politicians keep banging on about "austerity" but I don't see any! Yes, a minority lost their jobs, several small companies went out of business, the cost of living rose and so on but where was the real austerity, big banks going bust, giant corporations going under, huge cuts in government spending, soup kitchens, beggars in the streets and all that 1930s stuff? Barely a sign of it! And all because of this giant Ponzi scheme whereby cowardly politicians with the connivance of their central bankers dupe their stupid and willing electorate by printing money and lending it to themselves.
It cannot go on. It is the equivalent of a pedal-driven helicopter in which the rider has to keep pedalling, despite his increasing exhaustion, just to stay up in the air above the raging torrent below. It cannot last, it will not last, so all I can say is, happy landings!
