Sunday, January 11, 2009

Trend Forecasting Guru

JD turned me on to this trend prognosticator, Gerald Celente. Here's what he thinks:

"When people lose everything, and they have nothing to lose, they lose it."

' "The “Panic of ‘08” will be followed by “The Collapse of ‘09.” In 2008, when the world’s largest financial firms and equity markets crumbled, Wall Street’s woes preoccupied the media. In 2009, the focus will broaden to include a range of calamities that will leave no sector unscathed.'

"Setting aside the only major question that remains unanswered (when, or if, Obama makes Supreme Court selections, will they reflect the liberal beliefs of his supporters?), we see nothing coming from his administration that can prevent The Collapse of ’09, the Greatest Depression or the brewing Revolution. From these macro-developments, a number of other significant trends — some promising, some foreboding — will emerge, accelerate and intensify.

"It’s unprecedented. There is nothing like it in the history of the United States. No week goes by without the Government buying into or buying up another failing “too big to fail” using taxpayer money. In the process, a super-race of corporate giants is being created that will be declared “too big to tumble.” It is a matter of historical fact: When people are homeless, helpless, desperate, jobless and hungry, sooner or later they will rebel. And it won’t be any different in America."

"Like it or not, Americans are going on a diet: a spending diet and a food diet. Staying fit and living frugally was a mainstay of pre-World War II America, and it will be a major defining trend of 21st century America....."

"To cope with food shortages and food rationing during World War II, masses of people planted “Victory Gardens.” As America moves into the Greatest Depression, the need to put food on the table will again oblige people to grow their own....."

"To keep local, state and federal governments running, and to finance stimulus packages and bailout programs, politicians will put the squeeze on the already squeezed. The biggest squeeze: property taxes. Historically, empires crash when taxes are raised beyond the capacity to pay....."

"During the grim times of the Great Depression, arts and entertainment flourished, and with the repeal of Prohibition the good times rolled … and they’ll roll again. Lifting spirits, and drinking them, will be big businesses and major pastimes for both down-and-outs and the Uptown crowd during the Greatest Depression.....

"As the economy and the country unravel — closely following our forecast schedule — there is not a single major mitigating factor to forestall, much less reverse the process. Following the commercial real estate and retail cave-ins: College. Most will downsize, many will fail....."

His website:
http://www.trendsresearch.com/index.htm

Watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjvbm3pOYFo

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