I love long timeline big picture graphs...
Naturally, when still living inside the graph one cannot always be sure where one is in the grand scheme of things can be hard to see...the old can't see the forest for the trees...but in financial terms it appears we are at if not damn close to the closing act...the proof of unsustainability is approaching at a quicker pace...
Old time debasement combined with an overextended empire, floods of other (conquered, enslaved...capitulated) cultures, eroding ethics and morality...
It's an ancient recipe for total collapse.
And, well our seeds of destruction sewn well before Nixon...establishing any form of income tax was bound to be abused, 1913 was a banner year for current and future grifters to exploit to the detriment of people and national survival...
But the Nixon graph is a nice illustration of the pace of erosion during most people's lifetime...
...can't entirely fault Nixon, no doubt listening to Fed Head and Schultz and Haldeman who were having kittens over Britain and Germany demanding gold for foreign held dollars...
In hindsight why not split the (gold standard) baby in half? Tell foreign (especially central) banks the gold window is closed, reserves to be held for collateral support only.
Well, whatever. And the debt bomb keeps adding more fissile material in its core...
All is well, no need to panic...
They say that, you've entered "too late" territory...
