Aftershock: Protect Yourself and Profit In The Next Global Financial Meltdown, Second Edition

Aftershock: All the Bubbles Fully Collapse

With the dollar and government debt bubbles fully popped, and interest rates and inflation very high, unemployment will soar, the U.S. stock market will crash even further, the real estate market will be decimated, consumer discretionary spending will dry up, and the number of banks in business will be greatly reduced. The dollar will be worth a fraction of its peak value relative to other currencies, and gold will be a stellar investment for many years to come (see Chapter 7).

Most Americans (who don’t follow our advice in Chapter 6) will lose most of their money, but they won’t starve in the streets. In fact, because we have so much wealth to begin with, the United States will be in better shape than other countries (see Chapter 5), although life in the post-dollar-bubble world will be quite different than it is today.

One of the most striking differences will be the dollar itself, which will no longer buy nearly as much in imported goods. Like all the other bubbles, once the dollar bubble pops, it will not reinflate any time soon. The only way to make it go up again is to increase the demand for it, and that simply will not be possible. Remember Lehman Brothers? Being big and powerful is not enough; you also have to be a good investment.

Dead dollars, we are sorry to say, don’t bounce.