SLL has said the depression started in either 1987 or 2000 (see “The Humungous Depression“). Charles Hugh Smith thinks if we’re not in a depression, we’re very close to it. From Smith at oftwominds.com (for linked articles and charts, please refer to original article linked below):
Just for the sake of argument, let’s ask: what if we’re in a Depression but don’t know it? How could we possibly be in a Depression and not know it, you ask? Well, there are several ways we could be in a Depression and not know it:
1. The official statistics for “growth” (GDP), inflation, unemployment, and household income/ wealth have been engineered to mask the reality
2. The top 5% of households that dominate government, Corporate America, finance, the Deep State and the media have been doing extraordinarily well during the past eight years of stock market bubble (oops, I mean boom) and “recovery,” and so they report that the economy is doing splendidly because they’ve done splendidly.
I have explained exactly how official metrics are engineered to reflect a rosy picture that is far from reality.:
What’s the Real Unemployment Rate? That’s the Wrong Question September 14, 2016
Fun with Fake Statistics: The 5% “Increase” in Median Household Income Is Pure Illusion September 19, 2016
Here’s Why Wages Have Stagnated–and Will Continue to Stagnate August 15, 2016
Could Inflation Break the Back of the Status Quo? August 5, 2016
What Happens When Rampant Asset Inflation Ends? August 4, 2016
Revealing the Real Rate of Inflation Would Crash the System August 3, 2016
Inflation Hidden in Plain Sight
I also also asked a series of questions that sought experiential evidence rather than easily gamed statistics for the notion that this “recovery” is more like a recession or Depression than an actual expansion:
If Everything Is So Great, How Come I’m Not Doing So Great? September 12, 2016
Rather than accept official assurances that we’re in the eighth year of a “recovery,” let’s look at a few charts and reach our own conclusion. Let’s start with the civilian labor force participation rate–the percentage of the civilian work force that is employed (realizing that many of the jobs are low-paying gigs or part-time work).
Does the participation rate today look anything like the dot-com boom that actually raised almost everyone’s boat at least a bit? Short answer: No., it doesn’t. Today’s labor force participation rate is a complete catastrophe that can only be described by one word: Depression.
To continue reading: What If We’re in a Depression But Don’t Know It?
