Dmitry Orlov's repeated travels to Russia throughout the early nineties allowed him to observe the aftermath of the Soviet collapse first-hand. Being both a Russian and an American, Dmitry was able to appreciate both the differences and the similarities between the two superpowers. Eventually he came to the conclusion that the United States is going the way of the Soviet Union and has concluded that when the U.S. economy collapses, it is bound to be much worse - and permanent - because the factors that allowed Russia and the other former Soviet republics to recover are not present here. Words: 3730; Slides: 28

I read many hundreds of articles every week looking for writers who have an in-depth understanding of our economy and who are not reticent to tell it like it is. Monty Pelerin (a pseudonym) does just that week after week, year after year. This post includes introductory paragraphs and links to 25 of his most enlightening and current articles. Take a look. There are bound to be several that will grab your interest.

On the surface, policy settings around the world look very inflationary with large fiscal deficits and aggressively easy monetary policies yet it is hard to see inflation gaining any traction [with] global activity so weak and the monetary transmission process so impaired in many countries. There is more of a deflationary than inflationary tone to the economic environment and it does not look as if this will change any time soon.

[In a recent] conversation about international banking and the state of the global financial system [with] a senior executive of a large international bank - the ultimate insider - I was floored by what he told me. [Here's what he had to say and, in his opinion,] what basic steps, taken now, will enable you to be one of the few people left standing should the house of cards collapse. Words: 465

Busy? No problem. Don't bother taking the time to surf the internet in search of videos on the dire state of the U.S. economy. This post contains descriptions and links to 57 of the best.

We believe that we are in the “competitive devaluation” stage presently [see graph below] as country after country is printing money in order to lower rates and doing whatever possible to devalue their currency - to have the fastest currency in the...race to the bottom - in order to export their goods and services. [The next stage will be protectionism and tariffs. This article gives an update on the race to debase.]

16 point 7 trillion dollars. That is our current national debt. 12 point 8 trillion dollars. That is the amount households carry in mortgage and consumer debt. We are now addicted to debt to lubricate the wheels of our financial system. There is nothing wrong with debt per se, but it is safe to say that too much debt relative to how much revenue is being produced is a sign of economic problems. At the core of our current financial mess is how we use debt as a parachute for any problem. [Unfortunately,] addictions are never easily cured and we have yet to come to terms with our insatiable appetite for debt. Words: 850

Higher (lower) inflation expectations have remained closely bound with higher (lower) stock prices [of late but] this odd connection won't last forever...[but] until that changes, it's best to go with the flow....[This article explains] the new abnormal. Words: 266

Given the economic outlook, there seems little reason for stock prices to be as high as they are...This market could be called a "Madoff Market" in the sense that it is a Ponzi scheme, not the classic Ponzi scheme where exponential growth of new dupes is necessary to keep the scam going...but, rather, on exponential money creation. Fantasy is fun while it lasts but reality eventually intercedes and...[and it is] those way out in fantasy land [who] are especially vulnerable to disappointment [and] so it is for those betting on the stock market and an economic recovery. Let me discuss this further. Words: 1075

[The U.S. governments attempt to prevent the rating agencies (and Standard & Poor's in particular) from following through on their threats to further downgrade the credit worthiness of U. S. government debt] smacks of absolute desperation. It seems that Washington insiders have come to the conclusion that the stability of the U.S. government and financial system is threatened by the ratings agencies. In this case, it is threatened by creditors and citizens knowing the truth about the financial condition of the government.