Raybe,
I'm not making a case in favor of pick-axe and shovel jobs!
![Shocked :o](http://www.ultrahal.com/community/Smileys/default/shocked.gif)
If you want to maintain that those jobs artificially made unemployment look less worse than it really was, I have no problem with that. I was just explaining how it had caused the DJIA at that time to appear higher than the age demographic would have put it. Then later, excise taxes put it below where the demographic said. My point was, that economic policies can influence the DJIA a bit higher or lower than the Demographic would predict, but not very far from it.
I'm at a bit of a disadvantage here. The graph I'm referring too, I can't post it here, it's at the link I posted earlier, I don't know if you saw it:
http://www.thegreatbustahead.com/It shows that the DJIA and the age demographics follow each other closely. Not exactly, but closely. And even where they differ, it's not usually by a whole lot. The book had more detailed graphs, and of course heaps more data.
I think the point the book is making, is that regardless of what people do to screw up the habitat, the trend is that the DJIA and the demographic will follow each other closely anyway. If we get completely caught up in the shenanigans regarding the habitat changes, when in fact, the largest force affecting the economy is going to be the demographic,
regardless of what we do, then we are missing something pretty important. I'd like to be proven wrong about the demographic thing, because it's not a pretty picture. If anyone can, please do! If the demographic is correct, and for the most part unalterable, then will anything we do to "fix" it be like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic? Is the best we can hope for is lifeboats and damage control, until the demographic becomes more favorable in 2023?
Raybe, I can easily agree with most of what you said. You may be preaching to the choir where I'm concerned
![Wink ;)](http://www.ultrahal.com/community/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
It's just that, I'm just wondering how fixable this situation is? And regardless of the demographic, I don't mean to say that all the bad economic policy is unimportant. How this crisis is coped with, and who is going to exploit the crisis and use it try to change the power structure and perhaps even our form of government, is of grave importance.
I'm concerned that, combined with the demographic, this financial crisis could lead to a total collapse of our currency, which would be worse than just a depression. I was really impressed with the James Turk interview,
http://the-moneychanger.com/goldmoney/dollar_collapse.phtml, the interviewer really gave him a hard time, really challenged him, and he stood his ground well. It's that scenario, our increasingly squiffy currency, combined with the demographic trend, that ... will make 2012 really, uh, interesting?
I saw the 2012 movie, the story was ridiculous New Age rubbish. In the year 2012, the Mayan calendar will simply reboot, and start a new cycle. No big deal. But the special effects of the movie, when California goes under, really captured, I think, the subconscious fear that lurks in the minds of any Californian who's been through a big earthquake:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H50jTU4vqA0&feature=channelI lived in CA for 24 years. The fear of a massive earthquake like that is like the elephant in the room, that nobody really wants to talk about. But everyone knows it's there, and it exerts an influence. Likewise, I think this financial crisis is the elephant in the room, that is becoming too large to keep ignoring.
Our planet won't physically self-destruct in 2012. But our financial world, that's another story. If we can't stop it, we had better do what we can to soften it's impact, cope with the crisis, preserve what we can and prevent tyrants from exploiting the situation and enslaving us. Our freedom is ours to keep or lose.
Snowman,
Possibly the most depressing part of of the Bezmenov video was his description of "Demoralization": when the truth and facts don't matter anymore. Demoralization has become pervasive, and it makes everything else in four step process possible. It's impossible to win an argument with, or persuade, someone who has no interest in discerning what is true, and what is false. Demoralization is a rotten foundation on which nothing can stand.
The Soviet Union as such doesn't exist anymore, but there are still plenty of Marxists around, worldwide. But whether it's Marxists, or the Banks, Demoralized Politicians or whoever (there is always someone trying to make a power-grab) it's important to remember, that there is no one group or individual in control. There may be all sorts of people or groups striving for complete control, plotting to do things, but none of them are likely to succeed completely. The Law of Unintended Consequences is always at work. Or as the Jewish saying says, "People make plans, and God laughs". All we can do is keep going forward, keep making right effort, as best we can.