The Wall Street Journal declared, “Fasten your seat belts and get ready for more bumpy flying in the Fed’s cloudy skies.” A financial analyst opined, “2008’s market disaster is just days away…” Even Alan Greenspan said on March 16, 2008, “The current financial crisis in the U.S. is likely to be judged in retrospect as the most wrenching since the end of the second world war. (sic)”  Others, think it will be the worse than the Great Depression! I agree.

Today’s edition of one of Britain’s major newspapers, The Independent, headlined, “United States of America 2008: THE GREAT DEPRESSION and in the accompanying article noted that the number of Americans using food stamps were at a record high! Brits know that if the US hits bottom, they will soon follow us there.

My desire is not to scare people but to warn them of what I believe will be the most difficult time in American history! I wrote in a 1999 book that I am 100% convinced that a total collapse of the economy is in our future. I still believe it. The national economies of this world are ready to explode. They are like a boy standing up to his knees in gasoline, flicking a cigarette lighter. Moreover, I’m afraid everyone will get burned except maybe the insider fat cats.

The national economies of this world are ready to explode…like a boy standing up to his knees in gasoline, flicking a cigarette lighter.

I am convinced the glory days are gone forever. America has seen her best years. For the first time in history, young couples are not enjoying the standard of living their parents did. In fact, 70% of people in North America have seen their standard of living fall especially with the rise of fuel at $4.00 per gallon and food like corn and wheat doubling in price.

Governments usually do one of two things when they get into a “mess” like this. They repudiate all financial obligations or print worthless money day and night. The first will not be done because it would result in riot, rebellion, and revolution—literally. Think of the reaction if retired military men, welfare recipients, and Social Security beneficiaries were told—No more money! They would storm Capitol Hill and the White House and might bring back the guillotine, used so efficiently (and ruthlessly) during the French Revolution.

No, the politician’s answer to our horrendous problem will be to run the printing presses day and night. Then inflation and interest rates will race each other for the moon. Our national debt will be paid off with worthless dollars. You have always wanted to live in a million dollar house, and you will—the same one you live in now. Of course, it may cost $100.00 to purchase a newspaper!

My predictions are not based on special revelation from God, just common sense and knowledge of public affairs. I also believe you can’t go wrong if you depend on sinful man being sinful man! There will be major political battles in Congress that will bruise egos and might destroy careers. I also think that Islamic terrorists will strike mainland U.S. with repeated, devastating blows causing severe damage to the economy lasting for decades!

It is time to reevaluate your financial position, and make decisions to cover various contin-gencies whenever possible. Simplify your life, scale down your lifestyle, and get out of debt. The party is almost over, and the fat lady is warming up in the wings.

Difficult days are ahead for all of us. It is time to save, cut back, make do, do without, plant a garden, fill a large pantry with food and water, buy some gold and silver (Abraham did!), etc.

We can almost hear the prancing and pawing of the four horses of the Apocalypse and the birds of prey are gathering for a great feast. The vultures soar overhead as they anticipate picking the bones of a once-mighty nation. Melodramatic? Don’t think so. Look at the facts:

The stock market zips to record highs then plummets a 1,000 points is a few days: up and down like a yo-yo. Our biggest banks (Citigroup, Bank of America, Wachovia, etc.)  are in serious trouble. Bear Stearns’ wedding with JPMorgan Chase with the shotgun held by the Federal Reserve eased an old-fashioned bank run—for now. The buy-out was a fire sale with Stearns’ going for 10% of its value! My, how the mighty have fallen in a only few days.

The Fed made it clear that 20 other huge investment firms could come to the government trough to keep themselves alive—at taxpayers’ expense. The Big Bailout is on! After all, the big boys are “too big to fail.” Now, if you are a little guy, you are on your own. However, it’s about time for someone to tell the mega-rich leaders that welfare is welfare whether it is a single mom with 9 kids (by nine different men) or a bailout of a billionaire with an exclusive Manhattan address. The principle is the same.

Close the welfare window for the rich and the poor. Let each tub sit on its own bottom. Personal accountability is in—bailouts are out. But alas, not in our sick society where few want to held accountable. These are unpleasant facts that indicate a nation in trouble.

Gold has passed $1,000, an all-time high while oil has soared to a record $111.00 per barrel. Lurking behind these crises is a 9 trillion dollar gross national debt! And some politicians, who led us into this mess, tell us it is all a temporary problem. Brokers tell us we are in a “buying opportunity.” With them it is always a “buying opportunity.” The “experts” who never saw this coming tell us, “Stay the course.”

Everyone is aware that bubbles have been popping for months; first the dot.coms, then the housing market, now the banks, the stock market, etc. Pop, pop, pop. Housing will continue to plummet and so will new car sales. A tornado is about to rip through Wall Street and Main Street.

The dollar, once the world’s currency, lies limp on the cellar floor and is losing value every day. Kenneth Rogoff, the former chief economist at the IMF and now a professor at Harvard University, declared, “This recession will be long and deep and when we get out of it, we’ll have inflation,’’ And analyst John Williams opined, “the basic elements for a dollar collapse and an eventual hyperinflationary environment in the U.S. remain locked in place.”

A worldwide depression followed by longtime hyperinflation has long been my analyses. After a long period of deflation (read: depression), we will probably enter a long period of hyper-inflation. Hopefully it will not be as bad as present day Zimbabwe where a hamburger costs fifteen million dollars! Everyone in Zimbabwe is a millionaire. They are starving to death but they are millionaires. Watch out America. Here we come.

Copyright 2008, Don Boys, Ph.D.

(Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives, author of 13 books, frequent guest on television and radio talk shows, and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years His  most recent book is ISLAM: America’s Trojan Horse!  His websites are www.cstnews.com  and www.Muslimfact.com. His column is sent to over 11,000 newspapers, television and radio stations.)

Tags: family, finances