THE REAL REASON THE ECONOMY IS BROKEN (AND WILL STAY THAT WAY)

"Since 2005 real that is, inflation-adjusted GDP has only expanded by 0.9% on an annualized basis. On a nominal basis (not inflation-adjusted), the number is only 2.9%, far below the 5%-6% required to sustain a banking system dependent on exponential growth in that range ... The general observation is that growth in GDP is usually higher than growth in oil consumption - as growth in oil consumption powers economic growth. Without growth in oil consumption, GDP growth doesn't advance ... I calculated that every 1% increase in global GDP was associated with a 0.25% increase in oil consumption in other words, a roughly 4:1 ratio ... [A] dramatic increase in the price of oil [was] the only [way] to balance out the fact that since 2005 oil production has been essentially dead flat ... Carefully buried within higher oil prices are higher prices for every single economic activity that uses them ... The summary here is that it takes more and more to achieve less and less. The old form of economic growth is no longer with us, but the Fed still doesn't get it. It still has its eyes firmly trained on economic indicators and equations, having not yet raised its gaze into the real world where limits are being reached ... As we dump more and more money into the economy, hoping with all our collective might that it will once again sputter back to life and lift all fortunes and boats, too few are asking what happens if it does not. If there are other factors at work here besides a simple case of too much debt, then the Fed is not only barking up the wrong tree, but is unaware that a very dangerous animal with a bad attitude is resting up there."

Zum Artikel von Chris Martenson, erschienen auf Peak Prosperity (12. Februar 2013) »