Doug Casey -- The US following Roman Empire decline

 Corporations will never raise wages. That's not what they do. They keep wages low to increase profit for their investors. Trying to change that would be like trying to force water back up a waterfall by saying 'please'. Ain't gonna happen. Instead, Abe should institute an Unconditional Basic Income. This would separate people's basic pension needs from the insecurity of the stock market, eliminate poverty, and create immediate consumer spending. It's a no-brainer.







Doug Casey on the Chinese 21st Century and the US following Roman Empire decline
Our lead story: Erin looks at a landmark deal between Comcast and Netflix this past weekend that gives Netflix direct access to Comcast's broadband network. This agreement removes Internet middlemen like Cogent Communications and Level 3, which Netflix previously used to send its content to broadband providers. Now Netflix has cut out these middle players so that it has a direct pipeline to Comcast. So instead of public pipes for the Internet at large, Netflix got its own pipe, and set a terrible precedent.

Doug Casey calls in from Punta del Este, Uruguay to give us his assessment of China and why he thinks that 21st Century is a Chinese century. In this segment, he explains why he thinks central banks will lead to greater higher inflation and economic volatility in the near future; extols gold and explains why you should buy it; and warns why economic nationalism by governments could threaten economies throughout the world. After the break, Casey talks about water scarcity, the rising price of oil extraction, and how financialization and militarization hurt the US economy.

In today's Big Deal, Erin welcomes Ed Harrison back to talk about Abenomics and what it is trying to do to overcome Japan's economic problems. Harrison expects Abenomics to eventually fail since wages remain stagnant despite the recent inflation numbers. He also explains why he thinks that the United States could become the next Japan.