Jim Rickards on the Great Depression of 2020

I am posting this because it has been completely censored on Facebook - there is no way I could find to completely share this.

There is a lot that is wrong here - for instance about the nature of the virus.

I agree with Dane Wigington that this is not a "depression" but the collapse of a Paradigm.

Nevertheless Mr Rickards does reveal something that people should take note of.

NOTE: I have left his financial advice out of this. You can see the whole video HERE

https://pro.paradigm-press.info/p/AWN_GreatDepression_0420/LAWNW483/Full?s1=05_77038023_d68fe8cb-d9ad-4f15-ace2-2e8b1bd891ad&h=true

Hi, my name is Jim Rickards.

As a former advisor to the CIA and The Pentagon, I feel it’s my duty to warn you about what could unfold in America in the coming days.

I’m holding in my hand an official government document that was not intended for public distribution… but it was released by the New York Times…

It’s the government plan to fight the coronavirus crisis… and in order to prepare for the worst, on page 4 it says in plain English that…

And I quote…

“A pandemic will last 18 months or longer and could include multiple waves of illness.”

If you’ve been following the news, you already know the markets are crashing and our economy has ground to a halt.

Which is why famous hedge fund Bill Ackman said…

“Hell is coming, America will end as we know it. Capitalism does not work in an 18-month shutdown.”

Look, I’m about to show you undeniable proof this current economic shutdown could trigger another Great Depression…

Something 10 times worse than what happened in 2008.

And that’s why I'm writing to you today…

To show you the five steps you need to take to protect your family and your wealth from this looming unprecedented catastrophe.

These are the same steps I’m taking to protect my loved ones.

Unfortunately, our nation is

facing a catch-22…

We can either go back to our normal way of life and risk an explosion in coronavirus cases and thousands and maybe even millions of deaths…

Or fight the pandemic with lockdowns, quarantines and business closures, bringing business and social life to a halt.

The government made the right move to save lives and chose the second option.

Now shopping malls are looking like ghost towns…

Automobile Factories are being closed indefinitely…

And shops, gyms, bars, colleges, schools, and restaurants are all on lock down.

Economists fear that by the time the coronavirus pandemic is over, entire industries could be wiped out and millions of American workers could end up jobless.

This is unprecedented… and it’s why I’m convinced that…

Historians Will Look Back and Call This the Beginning of the 2020 Great Depression in America

We’re already in a recession… and that’s not just me saying…

Bank of America just warned all their clients with this urgent note:

“We are officially declaring that the economy has fallen into a recession… joining the rest of the world, and it is a deep plunge. Jobs will be lost, wealth will be destroyed and confidence depressed.”

But it’s about to get a lot worse…

Nouriel Roubini, an Economics professor at New York University who predicted the 2008 collapse, says:

“The risk of a new Great Depression, worse than the original, is rising by the day.”

Carmen Reinhart, a professor of economics and finance at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, says:

“This could morph into a financial crisis. We will see higher default rates and business failures. It could be like the 1930s.”

Even the mainstream media like Bloomberg has started to sound the alarm. Check out this headline…

In my 40 years advising financial institutions and the US intelligence community…

I can honestly say I have never… ever… seen this level of chaos around the world.

Look, I know that it can be hard to believe we’ll face another Great Depression…

But you don’t have to believe me and all these other economists right now.

Let me show you all the proof I’ve gathered…

Then you can decide for yourself if you should really protect your wealth and your family.

In the next few minutes, I’m going to show you how this economic shutdown will have a domino effect like we’ve never seen before…

We’re just watching the first domino fall right now…

Health restrictions have forced retailers, casinos, restaurants and universities to go dark.

Once-bustling airports are deserted. Highways and subways are empty. Factories are shutting down.

That’s why the first domino will be depression levels of unemployment… I’m talking about 25% or more.

I’ll even show you how a member of our own central bank is already projecting even higher unemployment rate.

And if this scenario the government is planning for happens…

Then the next domino to fall will be massive bankruptcies… even from blue-chip companies like American Airlines.

Then the crisis will spread to other important areas of the economy, like the real estate market…

After all, how can you pay your mortgage if you don’t have a job?

With companies going bankrupt and unable to pay their debt, then the crisis will spread to banks and financial institutions…

Think 2008 on steroids, with a scenario where you can’t even get your own cash from your bank account.

Then, the last domino to fall will be a complete collapse of our society and rule of law.

I’m talking about massive social unrest.

You may think that this can’t happen here in America…

But if that’s really impossible, why then is the U.S. military already preparing for widespread violence from food shortages?

According to Newsweek, three weeks ago the military issued standby orders to prepare for some form of martial law in “extreme circumstances,”

Look, I’m not trying to scare you…

And I really hope and pray I’m wrong…

I hope everything I’m saying here never comes to 

pass…

But as a former advisor to the CIA and the Pentagon, I can’t simply bury my head in the sand and ignore all the facts…

And the facts couldn’t be clearer…

Which is why I’m recommending that you take these 5 steps to protect your family against the Great Depression of 2020.

I’ve already taken a few of these steps to protect my family.

So in the next few minutes I’m going to show you…

• A little-known strategy that can make you money even if stocks are crashing…
• Three toxic, but popular stocks you need to avoid right now…
• Five recession-proof stocks to buy now…

I’ll even tell where I already invested $1 million of my own money.

Many other savvy investors are piling into this investment because they know there’s no time to waste.

Deutsche Bank economists already warned their clients…

“The US economy is currently undergoing a truly unprecedented shock that is likely to continue for some time with the spread of the virus set to accelerate further in the coming weeks.”

Unfortunately, most Americans will ignore all the warning signs and will just hope for the best…

And by the time they wake up to reality, it will be too late for them.

I tell you this from personal experience…

Because when I predicted the 2008 crash, those 

who ignored my warnings were caught by surprise 

when the meltdown happened

You see, I’ve been advising the US government on matters of national security for years now…

In the late 1990s, for example, I worked side by side with members of the Federal Reserve bank to save America from a $1.3 trillion banking crisis.

It would have destroyed the U.S. economy.

But thanks to my work, it never happened.

After 9/11, I started working with senior military leaders at the Pentagon and the highest ranks of the CIA…

And helped them create a financial system to predict the next 9/11… by analyzing unusual trading activity in airline stocks.

I’ve given advice to members of President Trump’s cabinet…

I’ve been inside the West Wing of the White House, the U.S. Treasury and the boardroom at the Federal Reserve.

And I’ve built my career predicting events that most people thought were “unthinkable.”

For example, when I predicted the 2008 housing collapse, no one believed me.

In the summer of 2008, I wrote this letter to top advisors in the presidential campaign:

Of course, nobody in Washington believed that another crash could happen…

But three weeks later, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt…

Panic took over…

Markets crashed across the world, ruining the retirement of millions…

An estimated $2.4 trillion disappeared almost overnight from Americans’ 401(k)s and IRAs when the market crashed in 2008.

8.7 million people lost their jobs, and over 10 million to lose their homes in the United States alone.

Once Congress realized I was right, they invited me to testify in the Senate about the state of the economy.

Most people who ignored my warnings are still dealing with the consequences to this date.…

Check out this headline…

Or this one…

And this one from 2018…

Imagine what will happen this time…

This won’t be another great recession.

It will be a depression.

That’s a BIG difference.

Former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alan Blinder, now a Princeton University professor, explains:

“We think of a depression as a recession that is very, very deep and very, very long. That’s the kind of thing that could happen.”

That’s why the New York Times is predicting this economic crash will be “More Severe Than the Great Recession.”

And veteran analyst on CNBC anticipates that we will have the “‘Worst Financial Crisis Since the Great Depression in 1929.”

Make no mistake…

This won’t be one of those crises where we quickly recover.

America’s first Great Depression lasted for a full decade, from 1929 to 1939…

The Great Depression of 2020 doesn’t look like it will be any different.

That’s why I want to show you the exact five steps you need to take right now to prepare for this depression.

Because honestly…

I’m afraid nobody else will show you exactly what 

to do

Look, if you lost money in 2008 and are still dealing with consequences, I can’t really blame you.

Just like today, there was a lot of misinformation back then…

Think about it…

Did the mainstream news ever warn you to prepare?

No, they only reported on it after the carnage had happened.

Something similar is going on today…

The media is very good at fear mongering and reporting half-truth stories of death and stock market crashes just to get attention…

But they’re not telling anyone how to prepare for the worst.

That’s why today, I’m going to give you 5 actionable steps to take to protect your family and your wealth.

If you follow these steps, I’m confident you’ll have the best chance at escaping unscathed from this unprecedented crisis…

And you’ll be able to secure a comfortable retirement and financial future.

But You Must Act Fast

Because things are developing at breakneck speed…

Just look at this headline from early March 2020…

Then just a few weeks later, Bloomberg published this story…

“The U.S. is entering a recession. The ultimate fear is that it could turn into a protracted malaise that has some flavor of a depression.”

The article went on to warn that this could get a lot worse… FAST!

Think about it… Just a few weeks ago, everything was just fine…

Now you can’t even find toilet paper and even food in some grocery stores.

Every day thousands of Americans are getting fired…

And a bunch of companies have already filed bankruptcy.

Look at it this way.

Americans right now are standing at the very bottom of a tall mountain… Mt. Everest, Mt. Kilimanjaro.

About halfway up the mountain, there’s a catastrophic avalanche barreling down towards us.

What should you do?

Should you just watch the avalanche coming and hope for the best?

Or should you recognize the severity of the situation and take action to protect yourself?

Your answer to this question could seal your financial future.

Things are moving so fast, that even if you wait one day to take the 5 steps I’ll explain here…

It might be too late.

That’s why recently I’ve been warning everyday folks about the instability of the stock market and our financial system…

And how a black swan event (like the coronavirus) could send the entire system tumbling down.

Multiple TV channels have invited me to help their 

viewers prepare…

I’ve also published a series of best-selling books to warn everyday Americans about lurking disasters…

And back in January 2020, way before the markets started to panic…

I sent this note called CONTAGION to a small group of readers warning them this would get much worse…

…and saying that the crisis that started in China could quickly spread and create a global crisis.

But today, it’s the first time ever I’m going public with the exact fives steps you need to take to prepare for this national crisis.

These are the same steps I’m following to protect my family and my wealth.

But before we get to those steps, let me show you all the facts I've uncovered so you can decide for yourself if I’m just blowing smoke.

The first thing you should know is this…

The 2020 Stock market crash will mark the beginning of 

America’s Second Depression… just like it 

happened in 1929

As you can see, stocks have crashed faster than the 1929 crash.

I don’t know if you know this, but the stock market crash of October 1929 signaled the start of what became known as the Great Depression.

Back then, falling stock values helped undermine consumer confidence and business investment…

And that led to a sharp economic decline that spread from the United States to other countries and continued for nearly three and a half years.

Not until the spring of 1933 did the American economy begin to recover.

What do you think is going to happen this time?

It’s going to be even worse because we’re facing an unprecedented event where our economy has basically shut down due to social isolation.

This has never happened before.

Think about it…

Consumer spending is what drives the US economy. It accounts for 70% of GDP.

Right now it's impossible for consumers to spend at restaurants, malls, theaters or on travel…

With all those businesses closing or suspending operations.

That’s why former White House chief economist Kevin Hassett says that if everybody stays home for six months…

“It is going to be like the Great Depression”

Like I mentioned earlier, this will have a huge domino effect…

With businesses shutting down their doors, we’re already seeing the first domino fall…

Domino #1: Massive Unemployment

As Barrons wrote recently…

It’s already happening…

In New Jersey, 15,000 people applied for unemployment benefits in a single day.

And 45,000 Ohio workers applied for unemployment in just one week.

According to Moody’s Analytics, up to 80 million jobs in the US economy are at risk.

That’s more than half of ALL the existing jobs in the United States today!

Even members of our own central bank, the Federal Reserve, are preparing…

With the Fed’s member James Bullard predicting a possible 30% unemployment.

To put that into perspective, US unemployment peaked at 10% during the Great Recession.

During the Great Depression, unemployment spiked to 24.9% in 1933.

In other words, he’s saying this could get worse than the Great Depression.

And remember…

This is just the first domino to drop…

With millions of Americans being laid off, what do you think will happen to their bills?

They won’t get paid…

And that’s when the second domino will drop…

Domino #2: Massive Bankruptcies

It’s not just everyday Americans who won’t be able to pay the bills.

Companies will also struggle.

Several industries are already at risk of being shut down…

Hotel executives told the USA Today that HALF of US hotels could close amid the coronavirus crisis.

Airlines across the world are grounding planes and laying off workers right and left.

According to CAPA (Centre for Aviation), most airlines in the world will be bankrupt by the end of May unless the governments intervene.

Even Boeing, a giant company with 100,000 employees, is already asking for a government bailout.

And the travel industry isn’t the only sector getting wiped out…

CNBC just reported that 2020 looks like it will set a record for retail stores closing in the United States.

The CEO of retail advisory and research firm Coresight Research said there could be more than 15,000 store closures in 2020.

And since nobody is shopping or traveling…

The oil industry is also getting absolutely leveled as well.

That’s why former Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli believes that HALF of the major fracking companies will go bankrupt soon.

And check this out…

In less than a week, the amount of distressed debt has exploded to $1 trillion dollars, reaching 2008 levels.

This is the amount of debt from companies the market thinks might not get paid in full.

Phil B., a senior distressed credit analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, says:

“What we are seeing now is fast and violent. The worst is yet to come.”

Bankruptcy expert Ed Altman also agrees with me. He said:

“A lot of marginal companies are going to be forced out of business.”

This crisis could also force entire cities to cut personnel, slash services, eliminate programs, including big cuts on pension plans.

California Senator John Moorlach, for example, says:

“It’s going to be a mess. I don’t know how it plays out. It’s not going to be pretty.”

The Washington Post also warned…

With a massive wave of bankruptcies on the way, it’s just a matter of time before the third domino drops…

Domino #3: Contagion will spread to Key Areas of 

the Economy, such as the real estate market

We all remember how real estate market crash had huge implications for the economy.

Well, how do you think folks who are losing their jobs will be able to pay their mortgages?

They won’t.

That’s why the CEO of Mortgage Bankers Association Bob Broeksmit, said that the mortgage finance system is in danger of bankruptcy.

He’s even sent a letter to the Federal Reserve requesting a bail out.

Sales of new homes are already starting to decline… which is exactly how the 2007 housing collapse started.

The National Association of Realtors did a recent survey… and they saw a marked decline in buyer interest.

Buckle your seatbelts, because here we go again…

Some economists are already making some dire predictions, like this one…

And this one…

Economist Tendayi Kapfidze believes the U.S. could see a complete “shutdown in the housing market.”

The commercial real estate market will also suffer.

Bloomberg recently reported that some big retailers like Mattress Firm and Subway are already struggling to pay their rent.

The article went on to say that…

“The stakes are high. If [retail] withhold payments, there would be a ripple effect. Landlords can’t afford to stop collecting rent for long, with many property owners sitting on loads of debt. The situation is likely to get messier.”

That’s why billionaire investor Carl Icahn told CNBC that commercial real estate is going to “blow up.”

That’s a $16 trillion ticking time bomb that could alone bring the entire financial system down.

Another real estate mogul, billionaire Tom Barrack agrees with me. If the government doesn’t take prompt action, he’s predicting…

“A domino effect of borrower defaults that will swiftly and severely impact the broad range of stakeholders in the entire real estate market, including property and homeowners, landlords, developers, hotel operators and their respective tenants and employees.”

And he said the impact could dwarf that of the Great Depression.

Well, you know the saying…

If you owe the bank $100, that’s your problem…

If you owe the bank $100 million, that’s the bank’s problem.

So with everyone struggling to pay their loans, the next domino will drop…

Domino #4: Banks will Fail and We’ll See a Credit 

Crunch Worse than 2008

Check out this headline from the Wall Street Journal…

The article went on to say that…

“U.S. consumers are facing what could become the biggest credit crunch since the Great Depression.”

The Guardian believes that the coronavirus will cause a “Credit Crunch that Could Make 2008 Look Like ‘Child’s Play.”

And take a look at this headline…

Since businesses have loaded up on debt in the low-interest-rate years after the 2008 financial crisis…

The global leveraged loan market is estimated to be anywhere from $1 trillion to $3 trillion.

And the coronavirus just exposed how fragile the banking system is.

I’ve been warning about all the debt built-up for years. And now the chickens are coming home to roost.

Lindsay David, consultant at LF Economics, said it best when he wrote:

“We know everyone is overleveraged, full bore, full risk. All we were waiting for was a trigger and unfortunately that has come in the form of a health crisis.”

That’s why banks could be in big trouble.

So, with massive unemployment… massive bankruptcies… both the stock market and housing collapsing… the possibility of banks going belly up…

The last domino will drop…

Domino #5: A Complete breakdown of Society

Imagine a situation where you’re unable to get even basic items like toilet paper and food.

Just a few weeks ago that seemed ridiculous.

And yet, we already saw how a mini panic led to empty grocery shelves across the country.

Remember that Government document I showed you earlier?

The one preparing for a crisis that could last 18 months.

Well, that official document warned…

“Shortages of products may occur, impacting health care, emergency services, and other elements of critical infrastructure.”

If you think that can’t really happen in America, check out this recent video

You’re watching hundreds of cars waiting to receive food from the Greater Community Food Bank in Pittsburgh.

That reminds me of the sad scenes of the last Depression, when Americans lined up by the thousands for food.

So what do you think is going to happen when all those other dominoes have fallen?

It’s likely we’ll see some social unrest and massive crimes in some areas of the country.

Some high-end stores across the country are already boarding up their stores in anticipation of civil unrest.

No wonder gun sales are absolutely exploding, as more and more Americans are preparing for a complete breakdown of our society.

That’s why in the next few minutes, I’m going to show you the five steps you should take not only to protect your family…

But also protect and even grow your wealth.

But before we get to that…

You’re probably asking yourself…

But Can’t the Government Save Us?

Look, I still remember my interview at the Nasdaq stock exchange headquarters in New York last year.

It’s where I predicted that the US Federal Reserve raised the interest rate to 2.5% as a scheme to prepare for the next recession.

I explained that this would give the Central Bank an opportunity to cut rates back down in the event of another potential economic crisis.

And that is exactly what happened!

In an effort to save the economy, the Federal Reserve announced on March 15th that it would cut interest rates to as low as 0%.

They’re also preparing to inject $1.5 trillion into Wall Street Banks……

Can they stop the bleeding?

I’m afraid the government won’t be able to bail out the economy this time around.

Here’s why…

Lower interest rates increase economic growth by driving up demand. But nobody is consuming anything because of the lockdown.

That’s a demand shock.

But the virus pandemic is also disrupting the supply chain, affecting the supply of goods.

That’s a supply shock.

For the first ever, we have both a demand and a supply shock. And cutting rates won’t fix that.

That’s why stock markets crashed AFTER the Fed announced rate cuts. Investors know this won’t work this time…

So unlike 2008, there’s no telling how low the stock market could go.

You can print all the money you want…

But if people are not borrowing it, if they’re not spending it…

It won’t work.

Let me explain…

Let’s say I got out to dinner and I tip the waiter.

And the waiter takes my tip and he takes a taxi home.

And the taxi driver takes the fare and puts some gas in his taxicab.

Well, my dollar had the velocity of three.

$1 supported $3 of goods and services: the tip, the taxi ride, and the gasoline.

But, what if I’m isolated from the world and just stay home, and watch television.

What if I don’t spend a penny.

That money has zero velocity.

That is exactly what’s happening right now.

Restaurants are closed…

Movie theatres are shut down…

Cruise Lines are ported.

Even Disney World is closed.

So no, printing money won’t help this time.

There’s only one potential solution to this crisis…

The only way to prevent a depression from happening is for us to develop a vaccine and beat the coronavirus at the source.

But that could take months… Here’s why…

There’s some evidence this coronavirus isn’t just some random virus.

According to some scientific sources, it’s a biological weapon that accidentally escaped a lab in Wuhan, China.

This isn’t some crazy conspiracy theory, as some of clueless mainstream media have reported.

Jay C., a Neurobiology Research Assistant Professor from University of Pittsburgh, indicates:

“The circumstantial evidence surrounding what we have done in the last let’s say 20 years with viral research suggests… this is a laboratory virus. It is likely and engineered laboratory virus.”

I really hope he’s wrong because if this is really a biological weapon, it won’t be easy to find a vaccine.

Unfortunately, sources close to the matter are starting to confirm this dangerous virus leaked from a lab in China.

Dr. Francis Boyle, an expert on biowarfare, recently said:

“The coronavirus that we’re dealing with here is an offensive biological warfare weapon. There have “been previous reports of problems with Wuhan’s Institute of Virology and things leaking out of it.”

To be clear, I’m not saying the Chinese did this on purpose. It just takes a minor negligence from a lab worker…

And boom, the virus could be out in the world.

Is it really hard to think that could have happened in China, a country known for its low safety standards?

That’s probably why Annelies Wilder-Smith, a professor of emerging infectious diseases said:

“Like most vaccinologists, I don’t think this vaccine will be ready before 18 months.”

Think about it…

Without a vaccine, our economy could be in lockdown for longer than anyone thinks.

As Bill Gates told President Trump during a recent call…

“It’s tough to tell people ‘keep going to restaurants, go buy new houses, ignore that pile of bodies over in the corner.”

That’s why Harvard University professor James Stock, who’s a member of the National Bureau of Economic Research, said this:

“Unless this virus miraculously disappears from the population over the course of the next few months, it is a reasonable scenario that we might be in this lockdown setting for quite a while, measured in quarters.”

Even the Pentagon is along preparing for a long battle.

Can you see now how there’s no way out of this difficult situation?

Either the government lets everyone go back to normal life…

Triggering an explosion in new cases and potentially millions of deaths…

Or we’ll be in lockdown for weeks and even months, which will most certainly trigger another Great Depression.

So What Can You Do?

To protect your family, I would suggest stocking up on essentials, just like I’ve done it.

Make sure you have enough water, basic food, and toiletries to last at least 3 months.

I currently own a small lot of property in the mountains of New England…

Where I have dug three wells, planted abundant gardens, and built a significant greenhouse.

I have also installed the largest non-commercial solar power system in New England.

Sufficient to say… I will not be dependent on anyone to take care of me or my family…

Again, if you don’t remember anything I say, remember this.

You can’t count on the United States government to save you during this next Great Depression.

Their own official document preparing for the worst case scenario has already confirmed this, saying:

“State and local governments, as well as critical infrastructure and communications channels, will be stressed and potentially less reliable.”

That’s why I recommend you immediately take these…