Introduction

When I walk down these streets it is as if the air itself is a bit out of phase.

An almost imperceptible shift that is slowly and insidiously forcing itself into my vision.

As if the color itself wished to recede into sepia, an encroaching nostalgia of hardship embellished as pragmatism.

The shuttered shops are mostly characterized by the discretionary nature of their wares.

The nouveau establishments started for another time.

Visited an open house last week. 6000+ square feet. $2.3 million asking. 7 bedrooms.

Capitalist excess that will soon be just another example.

The block where it resides, a monument for success.

Now I can’t help but wonder how many residents are trapped with the pendulum swinging closer.

When I jogged through the great city this summer construction was still abounding.

Cranes littering the skyline like a rising metropolis of the East - I felt pride in the ascendancy of these monuments - a testament to the optimism and spirit of my countrymen, while at the same time wondering whether the cranes would remain long after the anticipated completion dates.

Mom asked me the other day, ‘What’s Happening?’

My reply, ‘America went bust.’

This much is clear: They will inflate until they can’t. Inflation rewards those that have their wealth first. All roads lead to deflation. The stock market will bottom when no one cares. Much like the aristocracy when the barbarians are at the gates… you save the silver (banks) first. They will destroy the village (dollar and markets) in order to save it. After the deflation is overwhelmed, the West will never be the same.

I try to listen to the passing conversations; the tone has changed with the headlines.

With a constructive and patriotic lens, great opportunities await.

This process though will indelibly imprint itself upon the next generation and her immediate forbears.

May God bless and keep safe the United States of America.