• The U.S. economy is slowing. Look at housing sales, auto sales, Cass Freight Index, inverted yield curve, leading economic index, residential construction, freight shipments, retail store closures, large truck orders, bankruptcies, and many more.

• Official U.S. national debt exceeds $22 trillion and increases almost 9% per year, regardless of which political party mismanages distractions and payoffs.

• “Fake” dollars enter the system to keep the economic Ponzi rolling. Prices increase. Compare your present-day costs for food, beer, tuition, health insurance, a new truck, and rent to your costs for those same items five, ten, and twenty years ago. Prices will increase as long as debt expands.

• Congress, a legion of lobbyists, the military-industrial-security complex, Big Pharma, Big Ag and Wall Street support the status quo—ever increasing debt. Change will come slowly and against great resistance. Expect higher prices and declining purchasing power for the once mighty dollar, now a mini dollar.

• The “recovery,” as measured by the stock market, is doing well. Stock indices hit all-time highs… again. Central bank liquidity powers the speculators on Wall Street but does little for the lower 90%.

• Those in charge in the U.S. don’t care about the lower 90% of Americans who often live with stagnant incomes, large mortgages, massive medical bills, expensive health insurance, and soul-crushing student loan debt. The status quo benefits the political and financial elite.

• Higher consumer prices and more debt are inevitable.

• Interest rates on $13 trillion in global sovereign debt are negative. Argentina issued 100-year bonds. Others have reported that a few junk bonds now sell with negative interest rates. This is craziness and smells like desperation during “end-of-cycle” insanity.

• Our sitting President wants reelection. Expect him to do everything possible to prevent a recession, avoid increasing unemployment, reduce interest rates, expand credit and feed currency units into the economy.

• The next recession, like 2008, will see more government expenditures and diminished revenues. Hence deficits will rocket higher and debt will increase even faster.

• Or we can trust that Wall Street, the Federal Reserve and irresponsible governments will guide and protect us as we transition into a world of continual prosperity with no recessions. The Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and Bigfoot frolic in that world.

• Government spending is “out of control,” deficits will increase until something breaks, prices will rise in good and bad times, and the political distractions will continue.