When the real collapse will begin...

Bernanke Just Admitted He's Lost Control of the Markets
by Phoenix Capital Research

For weeks now I’ve been warning that absent the hint of additional liquidity at the June FOMC meeting, the markets would tank. And tank they have… almost to the minute that the Fed FOMC ended.

The number of problems facing the financial markets today is absolutely enormous. China has begun an interbank liquidity Crisis. Europe’s banking system continues to collapse. Heck even Trichet now admits that risk is on “red” for the Eurozone

The Middle East continues to go up in flames… literally. Greece is seeing full-scale riots (coming to a country near you in the next 12 months). Inflation is erupting in China. And on and on.

And at the head of all of this, the US Federal Reserve, run by Time’s “Man of the Year” Ben Bernanke, admitted openly they don’t have a CLUE why the economy is not picking up.

So when the next Crisis hits it will become clear the Fed CANNOT fix these issues (it never could but most people hoped regardless). And that’s when the real collapse will begin.

It’s coming.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bernanke-just-admitted-hes-lost-control-markets

Crash Baby Crash!

Our economy: Blind leading the blind

Full Transcript Of Ben Bernanke's "I Have No Idea Why The Economy Will Get Better But It Will" Speech And Q&A
by Tyler Durden

Bernanke says he has no idea why the economy will improve, but it just will, damn it

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/full-transcript-ben-bernankes-i-have-no-idea-why-economy-will-get-better-it-will-speech-and-

Obama Era Economic Stagnation Explained by Lemonade and Cookies

By C. Edmund Wright

Or more specifically, a couple of news items from the last few days involving lemonade and cookies pretty well demonstrates why the economy is doing well in a few select places while being in the tank overall.

First, in Bethesda, Maryland parents were fined 500 dollars when their kids had the temerity to run an "un-authorized" lemonade (and other cold drinks) stand. In fact, the venture was in part a fundraising effort to boot. Talk about making lemons out of lemonade. Now if you're scoring at home, this stunning tale makes it Bureaucrats 1 Entrepreneurs 0 in blue-state Maryland.

Meanwhile, in Texas, Governor Rick Perry signed into law SB 81, making it legal for kids and grandmas to bake cookies and cupcakes for sale at home. Before this law was signed, it was not technically against an ordinance. Now it's Entrepreneurs 1 Bureaucrats 0 in red-state Texas.

Gee, with these divergent thought processes, I wonder which state might have performed better over the past few years with respect to private sector job creation. The answer of course is Texas.

And it's not because of a couple of drink stand jobs here or home baking jobs there will result from the ordinances and laws. It's about the entire notion of the role of government intervention in our economy. In Texas, and all over red-state America, the idea is that government's role in the economy is merely to foster an environment where businesses can prosper. This is a good thing of course, allowing businesses to create jobs and economic opportunities for the owners and employees and investors through the production of attractive goods and services for consumers. This win-win-win equation explains the engine that has fueled the economy of our nation for decades. This is Milton Friedman's compassion theory in practice. He would no doubt like SB 81.

In blue-state America, the notion is that government must manage every aspect of business to make sure rules are followed and that no one is taken advantage of by anyone at any time. It's the idea that highly educated central planners can create a better economy by empowering armies of unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats who will interpret and enforce all of these wonderful ivory tower edicts from the smartest among us. As Friedman would ask sarcastically, just who "would be these angels" that could deem fairness from on high?

The answer of course would be those same some unnamed and unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats in faraway government buildings.

To understand why our economy is not in recovery and cannot possibly get there under this administration, it's even simpler than Friedman's pencil. Just compare the government view of lemonade stands in Maryland versus the government view of homemade cookie kitchens in Texas. Have some cookies and lemonade. It's all you have to know. It's so simple, even an Ivy Leaguer can do it.

READ MORE:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/06/obama_era_economic_stagnation_explained_by_lemonade_and_cookies.html

Flash Mob Robberies on the Rise

By Annie Vaughan

The same technologies that for years have brought together the mostly benign and goofy "flash mobs," is being used to plan and execute bold robberies.
Called “flash robs,” these crimes are being organized by young teenagers through various social media outlets, most notably Twitter.

Some of the most brazen robberies take place in the light of day and on busy streets despite all the security cameras and the watchful eyes of workers.

The pack mentality emboldens the thieves to strike fast

Last week, four violent assaults and robberies occurred in Chicago’s upscale area of Streeterville. One man was dragged into the street and beaten by a group of 15 to 20 teenage males

Another man was robbed of his cell phone and camera after being knocked off his bike and punched by a group of teenage males.

workers at a retail store in Dupont Circle were caught off guard as a group of about 20 teenagers swarmed the store, taking over $20,000 worth of merchandise and promptly exiting the building

St. Paul Stores Suffer ‘Mob Thefts’: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/06/18/top-five-most-brazen-flash-mob-robberies/

TheModernSurvivalist: The Golden Hour

by FerFAL

I know its something a lot of people think about, that golden hour when the majority of the population realizes that something has gone down and life as they once knew it may have changed forever.

Sometimes its less dramatic: A storm being announced and everyone hitting the supermarket at the same time, leaving them empty of the typical basic supplies in a matter of minutes. Or maybe its an evacuation, where everyone tries to leave town at the same time and people may end up caught in traffic for hour even days.

On the other hand events that may involve changes even more significant and long term may not have a “golden hour” per se. Banks freezing accounts, bank runs, sudden devaluation of the currency, those qualify as “golden hour” moments where a difference of a day or an hour may have mean the difference for you between losing your life savings (or %80 of them) or not.

When riots started I was home. I remember that morning well because I woke up hearing drums. It was a group of looters, about 20 yards from my home. The mass of people and the sound they made was pretty intimidating. “What on Earth do I do if they turn left and head my way?” Its impossible not to wonder that with looters so close, and later I learned that at different points of the city homes were indeed looted. Not as much as stores and supermarkets were, but it did happen and I dont remember seeing the media report that. What do I do?

The Money Hole

by John Stossel

America is falling deeper into debt. We're long past the point where drastic action is needed. We're near Greek levels of debt. What's going to happen?

Maybe riots -- like we've seen in Greece?

Top Post-Collapse Barter Items and Trade Skills

by Brandon Smith

The concept of private barter and alternative economies has been so far removed from our daily existence here in America that the very idea of participating in commerce without the use of dollars or without the inclusion of corporate chains seems almost outlandish to many people.

Whether we like it or not, such economic methods will be making a return very soon, especially in the face of a plunging dollar, inflating wholesale prices, erratic investment markets, and unsustainable national debts. It is inevitable; financial collapse of the mainstream system ALWAYS leads to secondary markets and individual barter.

This means that each and every one of us will not only be driven to form barter networks outside the designated confines of the mainstream, we will have to become active producers within those networks. Each and every one of us will need to discover practical goods and skills that will be in high demand regardless of economic conditions.

Differences between military survival and survival in the civilian world

by FerFAL

One common mistake among people that are into survival and disaster preparedness is associating military operation procedures, the mental attitude, the gear involved and the tactics applies to tasks in the civil world during hard times.

It is easy to find lots of examples, cases where people clearly don’t understand the difference as well as they should.

Read More:
http://www.themodernsurvivalist.com/?p=700

How To Build A Blackout Kit

By Aaron Frankel

If a blackout or emergency arises in the middle of the night, will you be prepared? Outages that leave you in the dark can be extremely disruptive and dangerous. Aside from outfitting your home with a generator, one of the best things you can do to mitigate issues that arise during a blackout is to put together a Blackout Kit.
What Is A Blackout Survival Kit

A Blackout Kit loosely defined is a collection of items to help you through an emergency situation in the home. They are commonly referred to as Blackout Kits because you are most likely to need one, well, in a blackout.

What Blackout Kits allow you to do is keep a small cache of helpful items in a strategic location that can be quickly and easily gotten to. What kind of items go in a Blackout Kit? Items like flashlights, emergency tools, anything that would be useful in the event of an emergency.

Blackout Kits should be stored in easily accessible places and everyone that resides in your house should be made aware of their placement and contents. Keeping them low makes them accessible in fires and to children old enough to use the contents.

Add a Hatchet or small Pry Bar. Either of these tools will aid you in creating an escape should you become trapped.

Blackout Kits, aren’t just for power outages. They can save you a lot of grief and avert emergencies. With a limited number of supplies you can handle a lot of situations. Whichever items you choose to flesh out your kit with, please consider them carefully. Your well-being could very well depend on any one of the contents.


http://www.intherabbithole.com/blackout-kit-how-to-build/

Did gas prices cause the bad news on jobs?

By STEPHEN F. HAYES

After struggling to come up with an explanation that doesn't admit a policy failure, the White House seems to have settled on an answer to questions about what led to the grim unemployment numbers last week: Gas prices. The president said the other day that the latest jobs numbers are a "blip" caused by "headwinds" facing the U.S. economy—the "most prominent" of those headwinds comes from "gas prices." It's an argument that certainly fits with the administration's political case against oil companies. Is it true?

One problem: After four consecutive months of increases, gas prices went down in May. (See here.) In January, the average self-serve price rose from a little over $3.00 per gallon to $3.15. In February, it rose from $3.15 to $3.55. In March, it spiked from $3.55 to almost $3.80. In April prices went from $3.80 to nearly $3.95. In May, however, gas prices declined—from about $3.95 to $3.77. So if rising gas prices were truly the cause of additional unemployment, we would have seen these problems show up earlier this year. We didn't. In each of the four preceding months, the economy added near or above 200,000 jobs—despite gas prices rising quickly. And then in May, when gas prices fell, the economy added just 54,000 jobs. So the best month of the year on gas prices (at least in terms of trends) was the worst month of the year for jobs.

So the president's explanation doesn't work.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/what-gas_573985.html

Economic Collapse: Explaining it to Kids (and yourself)

by FerFAL @ TheModernSurvivalist.com

"Remember when they tell you that you need to stock away 6 or 12 months of food, that it is not because zombies are coming or aliens destroying the world, and you are hunkered down in your bunker. It is because you will be 6 or 12 months without a job."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzULODchXNw&feature=player_embedded#at=223

http://www.themodernsurvivalist.com/?p=1358

Big Bang Theory

by Zee (From a group discussion)

Most of this article sounds like tin-foil hat stuff. But the following assertions are concerning, especially in light of the pronouncement this week that Iran is about 2 month away from successfully weaponizing their nuclear program:

1.) Recently, The New York Times reported that the United States is running out of a rare gas that is used to detect smuggled nuclear materials.

2.) The report outlined the fact that the United States is no longer able to track nukes within the US.

I agree that we are vulnerable to [smuggled in] nukes, but has nothing to do with a shortage of that gas. We simply can’t yet scan all the crap coming into the country.


http://www.thedailybell.com/2422/Upcoming-US-Nuclear-Event.html

Gold Off Slightly Ahead Of Bernanke Speech

By Jerry A. DiColo

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Gold futures were down slightly Tuesday, as investors pause ahead of a speech expected later in the day by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Gold held below the key $1,550 a troy ounce level, and trading is expected to remain subdued before Bernanke's speech at the International Monetary Conference at 3:45 p.m., EDT, in Atlanta.

Statements from the Fed chairman are taking on renewed importance after a string of weak economic data last week raised fears about a slowdown in the U.S. recovery. The central bank's latest stimulus program, known as quantitative easing two, or QE2, is set to wind down this month, and investors are concerned about how the economy will fare without the Fed's help.

The slowdown is leading to calls for a third round of stimulus, but few economists expect the Fed to take that action.

"The economy, without question, is hitting a really big soft patch," said Matt Zeman, head of trading at Kingsview Financial. "A lot of commodities are just waiting to get their next cue, and they'll be waiting on Bernanke's comments later today. ... If (central bankers) continue to pump more money, it's going to be gold positive and dollar negative."

Gold, a hedge against economic uncertainty, has drifted higher in recent days amid demand for a safe harbor.

Investor confidence suffered a massive blow last week, as poor economic data from the U.S. culminated in a weaker-than-expected jobs report Friday. The surprise slowdown in employment has led to questions about the future of the U.S. economic recovery.

Gold reached new all-time highs in early May, and have again climbed toward record levels. Europe's churning sovereign-debt troubles have renewed concerns about holding paper currencies like the euro or the dollar as investors remain concerned about financial stability in the region.

Silver rose 1.2% to $37.230 a troy ounce.

Nymex palladium for September delivery, the most actively traded contract, rose $9.70, or 1.2%, to $808.40 a troy ounce.

Platinum for July delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained 0.4% to $1,827.90 a troy ounce.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110607-707087.html

Home Invasion: Country vs. City after the Economic Collapse

by FerFAL @ TheModernSurvivalist.com

This is one of those recurrent topics and I receive email asking about this very often.

Where will I fare better? What’s the safest place to be in as everything goes down?

Those of you that have been reading my blog for a while know where I stand. I don’t think an isolated homestead or farm is the best place to be in, and it certainly isn’t when crime becomes a real problem all across the country.

Unemployment’s about to cause “civil unrest”

by Ed Morrissey

The Daily Caller provides a four-minute video from today’s Don Imus Show, in which Democratic political strategist James Carville warns that extended unemployment will have a destabilizing effect on American politics.

"you know, if it continues, we’re going to start to see civil unrest in this country. I hate to say that, but I think it’s [eminently] possible."

Will there be riots in the streets? Doubtful, not unless we see a total collapse of the economy. But without a doubt, high and chronic unemployment has caused civil dissatisfaction.

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/06/06/carville-unemployments-about-to-cause-civil-unrest/

QE3 Has Already Started

by madhedgefundtrader

Most analysts have missed the fact that QE3 has already started in earnest. Of course, it would have been easy to miss. Ben Bernanke has not made any grand pronouncements. He hasn’t done some public thinking out loud, as he did among friends at Jackson Hole, Wyoming last August. It is not even called “QE3”. Think of it as a “stealth QE3”. But make no mistake. A new variety of quantitative easing has already begun in a big way.

The new QE3 is the “RISK OFF” trade. QE2 ended up pouring $600 billion into stocks, commodities, oil, gold, and silver. Since April 29, the prospect of slowing economic growth has prompted this hot money to take flight and bail from these assets classes. Think of it as the same $600 billion stampeding into risky markets, doing a 180, and then stampeding right back out again.

Where is all this money going? Into the Treasury bond market

The beauty of this plan is that it has no government fingerprints on it. They are getting private investors to do the heavy lifting for them. That will make them immune from attacks from anti-interventionists, like the Tea Party, and anti-Federal Reservists, like Ron Paul. Bernanke can just sit back and let natural market forces do his handiwork for him.

Keep in mind that the next Recession will be far worse than the last one. None of the problems of the 2008-2009 debacle, like too big to fail, the real estate collapse, and the burgeoning bad debts on bank balance sheets, have really been solved. The can has merely been kicked forward. The only difference will be that there will be no TARP and no bail outs next time. The chips will fall where they want.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/qe3-has-already-started?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29

I'm Back

Sorry for the week hiatus folks, was on vacation - but I'm bank now.

Housing Prices Will Lead to Double Dip Recession: 3 Short Plays

Alas, the double dip recession has arrived. It seems that everyone and their mother in financial media predicted this moment. It goes without saying that this was a long time coming. However, I am certain that I will be among the first to give a glimpse to what exactly the bottom may look like (whenever it arrives) and the new reality that maybe the U.S. home market.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/269375-housing-prices-will-lead-to-double-dip-recession-3-short-plays

Housing crash is getting worse: report

By Brett Arends

New data just out from Zillow, the real-estate information company, show house prices are falling at their fastest rate since the Lehman collapse.

Average home prices are down 8% from a year ago, 3% over the quarter, and are falling at about 1% every month, according to Zillow.



And the percentage of homeowners in negative-equity positions — with a home worth less than its mortgage — has rocketed to 28%, a new crisis high.



Zillow now predicts prices will fall about 8% this year and says it no longer expects the market to bottom before 2012.





http://www.marketwatch.com/story/housing-crash-is-getting-worse-2011-05-09

Presidential candidate Ron Paul Warned us of Coming Social and Political Chaos

Back in Febuary 2010, Ron Paul warned the pople of what is now near ubiquitous knowledge. The enevitable collapse of the US currency and the resulting social and political chaos is coming soon.



As melodramatic as this sounds, this isn't just media hype. This has already happened in Weimar Germany, Argentina and Zimbabwe. Their currencies became entirely worthless, and they experienced an “end of the world as we know it” in their nations. The ongoing "Arab Spring" & all the unrest in the mid east was brought about by inflation (one Farmer fed up with food prices started it all). And We'll probably see something similar in Greece and other euro-zone nations soon. Do you really think that the USA won't be far behind?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPQs6ri7Dt0

The End Of The World As We Know It

TEOTW Is Foolishness – TEOTWAWKI Will Happen Soon
by Russell D. Longcore

The world media was all abuzz last weekend with the prediction by radio preacher Harold Camping of Family Radio who made a prediction that the world would end on May 21, 2011. But Mr. Camping was mistaken once again. No, this is not his first time making this prediction. Still, it was very entertaining while it lasted.

The phrase “The End of the World” is a connotation phrase- No one ever seems to define it. The term “End of Days” is used interchangeably. But whatever they mean, they do not mean exactly what they say. The end of days would literally mean that time stood still, the earth stopped spinning on its axis and there were no more days. No one believes that will happen. Even if Harold Camping would have been right, the world would not have ended. Even the Mayan predictions of the “end of the world” do not include the destruction of the earth in 2012.

So what is TEOTWAWKI? (The end of the world as we know it)

READ MORE

Steve Forbes: "The US Will Likely Have A Gold Standard Within The Next Five Years"

by Tyler Durden

"A return to the gold standard by the United States within the next five years now seems likely, because that move would help the nation solve a variety of economic, fiscal, and monetary ills. “What seems astonishing today could become conventional wisdom in a short period of time,” Forbes said.

Such a move would help to stabilize the value of the dollar, restore confidence among foreign investors in U.S. government bonds, and discourage reckless federal spending.

TheModernSurvivalist: Thoughts On Urban Survival

By FerFAL

EDITORS NOTE: Like most of my postings, this article has been trimmed in content for space allowances. This particular article is VERY VERY long and chalk full of great info. At best, all I can do is pick out some key paragraphs in each section and reorganize them - even then it is long. Please read the riginal article as time allows.


My brother visited Argentina a few weeks ago. He’s been living in Spain for a few years now. Within the first week, he got sick, some kind of strong flu, even though climate isn’t that cold and he took care of himself. Without a doubt he got sick because there are lots of new viruses in my country that can’t be found in 1st world countries. The misery and famine lead us to a situation where, even though you have food, shelter and health care, most of others don’t, and therefore they get sick and spread the diseases all over the region.

What got me started on this post is the fact that I actually saw this coming, and posted on the subject here, months before the new viruses spread over the country and the news started talking about this new, health emergency, which proves that talking, thinking and sharing ideas with like minded people (you guys), does help to see things coming and prepare for them with enough time.

More Americans now willing to take "extreme measures" to get money.

By Zee

50% of Americans Couldn't Come Up with $2,000
By Caitlin Dickson

Nearly half of Americans are living in a state of "financial fragility," a new paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research reveals.

Harvard Business School asked survey participants whether they would be able to come up with $2,000 for an "unexpected expense in the next month." 22.2 percent predicted they would be "probably unable" and 27.9 percent said they'd certainly be unable to foot the unplanned bill. But, it was the participants' method of coping that really determined their fragility. 25.7% of respondents who were asked about coping methods (equal to 18.6% of all respondents) would come up with the funds for an emergency by resorting to what might be seen as "extreme measures."

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/business/2011/05/50-americans-couldnt-come-up-2000/38058/

If you are wondering what "extreme measures" are, consider that it must be more extreme than "those who would pawn their possessions, sell their home, or take out a payday loan" because that was a seperate question. Starting to sound scarry huh?

So what exactly do "extreme measures" entail? Selling a kidney? Identity theft? Scam artistry? Shoplifting? Rob a bank? Mug someone? Home robbery? Blackmail? Extortion? Kidnapping?

When Argentina's robust economy collapsed in 2001, people turned to making money though various crimes, including, increasingly, kidnapping, mugging & home break ins.

Is the US next?

Belarus Just Devalued Its Currency By 56%

The National Bank of Belarus (NBB) is sharply devaluing the official rate of Belarusian ruble. The exchange rate as of May 24 was set at 4,930 rubles per dollar. a decrease of 56% from the 23 May.

The National Bank of Belarus has officially confirmed a sharp depreciation of the currency. On its website it has published the official exchange rate of Belarusian ruble: $ 1 - Br4930 (a decrease of 56,3% to the rate on 23 May)

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/belarus-just-devalued-its-currency-56

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"To sit back hoping that someday, some way, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last - but eat you he will." - Ronald Regan

Going Gold

If buying gold is just a fad trend; if buying gold is just being paranoid; If buying gold is a bad investment - Then why are all the central banks starting to do it BY THE TON?

Zimbabwe To Trade Diamonds For Gold As It Prepares To Launch Gold-Backed Currency
by Tyler Durden

A week ago we presented the idea floated by once hyperinflationary Zimbabwe, oddly jeered by most, that the country is seeking to move to a gold-backed currency, adding, somewhat surrealistically, that the "days of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency are numbered." And if anyone should know a hyperinflationary basket case, it's Zimbabwe. Well, today this bizarre story just went fuller retard, after the country announced that it may exchange diamonds for gold "so that it can have a gold-backed currency, according to a recent proposal from the governor of Zimbabwe’s central bank." Indeed we speculated previously why: "Zimbabwe, a country rich in natural resources, took so long to figure out that it was nothing but a puppet in the hands of western monetary interests." Well, others are now getting this idea.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/zimbabwe-trade-diamonds-gold-it-prepares-launch-gold-backed-currency



China Becomes World’s Larest Gold Buyer - Buys 93.5 Tonnes Of Gold Coins / Bars in Q1 - Gold Ownership Rising From Miniscule Levels
By GoldCore

Gold and silver are higher again today with the debt laden dollar, euro and yen all being sold. News that China has become the world’s largest buyer of gold bullion and has seen investment demand double continues to reverberate in the markets and may have contributed to this morning’s strength.

Chinese investors bought 93.5 tonnes of gold coins and bars in the first quarter. China produced 340 metric tons of gold last year and consumption was about 700 tonnes

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/china-becomes-world%E2%80%99s-larest-gold-buyer-buys-935-tonnes-gold-coins-bars-q1-gold-ownership-ri


PIMCO's largest holding is now in GOLD
by International Business Times

Anne Gudefin, PIMCO’s global equities portfolio manager, likes gold.

“The largest position in [our] fund is gold, which we think is a very good form of protection against what can go wrong,” said Gudefin in an interview with Fortune published on May 12

http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/144859/20110512/gold-pimco-gudefin.htm

Japanese Economy Collapses

by Tyler Durden

Yes, this is officially a recession. Of course, anyone reading Zero Hedge would have been perfectly aware of this outcome. And for it to be short, it means that the BOJ will be forced to print a few hundred trillion in Yen asap. Which in turn means that the USDJPY will surge and shift the Japanese recession even faster over to the US. And yes it means that the turbo print button among the central banks will get the F5 treatment as the second round of currency devaluation completes a lap.

There she is. The most glorious of the black swans, followed by the four horsemen right behind it.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/japanese-economy-collapses-q1-gdp-drops-double-consensus-rate-epic-nominal-plunge-52

Think prices are high? Just wait ’til summer

By John Crudele

Prepare yourself for a summertime inflation shock.

An expert who helps put together the government's Consumer Price Index (CPI) says that the closely-watch inflation gauge could rise abnormally "after June."

If gasoline prices should rise, then the jump that's already baked into the summer CPI numbers will be even more pronounced.

There is also a lot of other tricky financial stuff going on right now. If, for instance, Congress stumbles in trying to raise the nation's debt limit -- well, nobody really knows what will happen to the economy, inflation and interest rates. But it won't be good.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/think_prices_are_high_just_wait_e8UQsYRLzapNcvWe0cgEIO