The unchecked growth of debt in Western countries will lead to a “colossal mess” within the next five to 10 years, according to Marc Faber, author of the infamous “Gloom, Boom and Doom” report.
“I think the regimes will try to keep the system alive as it is for as long as possible, which means there’s no ‘fiscal cliff,’ there’s a fiscal grand canyon,” Faber (aka “Dr. Doom”) said during a Monday broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Faber continued, arguing that the expansion of government in the West has made it possible for countries to load up on massive, never-ending deficits, which, according to him, will soon reach crisis levels.
“Eventually, you have either huge changes occurring in a peaceful fashion through reforms, or, usually, through revolutions,” he said, adding that both the U.S. and Europe are approaching revolution scenarios.
“I think the time frame would be within five to ten years you have a colossal mess … everywhere in the Western world,” Faber said. “I think the deficit here (in the U.S.) — irrespective of who is in the White House — will stay above a trillion dollars per annum for at least as far as the eye can see.”
[Faber’s comments on the “colossal mess” are at the 03:30 mark. However, the entire discussion is definitely worth a watch]:
The international investor went on, revealing what he thinks is the correct the solution: Reduce the size of government.
“My medicine for the U.S. is this: Reduce government by minimum 50 percent,” he said. “The impact would be immediately an improvement in the economy.”
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Front page photo courtesy the AP.

























































































































Comments (55)
WakingSheep
Oct. 23, 2012 at 9:36amConsidering they want to install a one world socialist government and the people of the US care only about jobs; we deserve what’s coming.
We had one guy that was willing to try and fight it and instead we went with the ex-democrat flip-flopping progressive.
I’m not saying any president could have changed the outcome but at least we knew he wasn’t part of it.
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robot501
Oct. 23, 2012 at 8:32pm@sheep
The people that are working to pay for it are angry, those in the queue are more inclined to vote for the current situation that insulates them. Either way, the end game is the same.
No thinking person had any expectation that Obama meant to remedy the decline… he was just there to play our over exaggerated “white guilt nerve” long enough to destroy what’s left. And don’t flatter McCain, he had us on the same track, just not at “ludicrous speed”.
In the words of Che “Viva la revolution”.
The tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants alike…
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historyguy48
Oct. 23, 2012 at 8:00amThe worldwide currency collapse is unavoidable and is far closer than what this guy thinks. There are those currently working diligently to get that ball rolling and once it happens it will sweep the world in days, possibly hours. This won’t be hyper-inflation, but a worldwide collapse, something that had never happened in human history before.
There is a very interesting novel out there written by Nathan Hale titled “Death of Civilization; the Apocalypse Begins” that begins with the worldwide currency collapse and continues from there. Read the authors Preface, it reads like tomorrows headlines.
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Mr Sanders
Oct. 23, 2012 at 1:58pmVery true….. no one knows what the world looks like past this threshold… but we have everything we need within our borders to restart; land, energy, resources. Thankfully, the Sun will rise the next day, the birds will churp, and the tides will still prevail. We can make it.
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drs1969
Oct. 24, 2012 at 12:57amIceland is relatively debt-free these days. I think I ought to move there. L remember Jim Cramer trashing them when they told his cousins to drop dead. He said the island would be uninhabited in a few years. It may be one of the safe havens.
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daszim
Oct. 23, 2012 at 7:58amIt does not matter who goes to Washington: President, Senate, or House. The same holds true for the debt/deficit, social security, medicare, etc., it does not matter what happens. Our political system is working for those in Washington and until it stops working for our elected officials nothing will change. That is the only timeline that matters…
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huey6367
Oct. 23, 2012 at 7:41amEurope, here we come.
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WakingSheep
Oct. 23, 2012 at 7:28amSo that gives us 1-6 years after the 2016 election to try again.
Maybe the conservatives will wake up and not vote Republicrat.
The federal reserve will remain untouched until we have a president willing to at least talk about it.
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HowardSternIsABigot
Oct. 23, 2012 at 7:26amWe need to quit financing chinese slave labor factories and bring home jobs that the marginal folks can earn a living. All these poor slobs have been cheated by slave communist labor. The fault is in congress. They engineered all this and even got the stupid fools to support it by selling cheap goods at huge profits to people trading their home equity for massive debt. The causes are legion and they all were intentionally visited on the citizens of the usa by congressional actions. The even sabotaged the great engine of home ownership with the community reinvestment act, suckered in and the sucker punched.
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kathystone
Oct. 23, 2012 at 7:18amI have 2 neighbors. One makes $3,000 a month. He “divorced” his wife who then qualified for welfare. They have 4 kids, a boat, 6 vehicles, a very nice camper trailer, 9 horses and some cattle. She gets welfare, food stamps and medicade. They put their 15 acre farm in his dead parents name so they also got OACAC, a missouri agency to help the poor, to come in and put new window air conditioners in the kids rooms. Last winter the house was painted and re-insulated by the same agency.
My other neighbor was a druggy. He has 4 kids as well. One is “autistic”, one is ” mildly retarded”, his wife has a “learning disability, she can’t read, and one is an infant. So he qualifies for welfare, food stamps, medicare etc, too. What ever happened to working 3 jobs to get by? No, that is not the solution either but we must cut the dead beats from the welfare roles and give it to the truly needy.
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drs1969
Oct. 24, 2012 at 1:00amYea, there are autistics all around here, too. It’s BS.
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TRILO
Oct. 23, 2012 at 7:06amNeither candidate or party has a plan to cut the budget. All they give us is a shell game. Over the years both parties have had total control in government and did absolutely nothing except increase spending and ignore the insolvency of Social Security and Medicare (Medicare Part D ring a bell). Cutting the budget would put more people out of work (federal workers) and no one wants that on their political resume.
BTW cutting the budget over 28 years (The Ryan Plan) is not cutting the budget as all the cuts are in some fantasy land called the future.
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MeMadMax
Oct. 23, 2012 at 6:56amWe are already on the road to another recession. A quick look at usdebtclock website shows that consumers are spending less, mortgages are going down, credit card debt is going down…
Now, in a normal economy this would be great news… but since we have become a “consumer” based economy where the EPA/Free trade agreements have wiped out our industrial capacity, this is bad news for the only “healthy” sector we have left: Commercial/Consumer markets…
Gonna be a cold winter and summer next year…
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pepsicolakid
Oct. 23, 2012 at 6:11am50% sounds great but its not gonna happen and I think deep down we all know that. This beast aka the federal government will continue to grow until we are totally destroyed financially(maybe literally) and I watch in horror. Bad things are coming,It’s not “If” it’s”when”. Prepare and Pray.
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Mr Sanders
Oct. 23, 2012 at 1:50pm…. but we have to try! We are the government. We’re here because we walked off the job, lived passively and accepted apathy; we settled. I know – I was one of them. How do I know its our job? As it begins “We The People”.
I only want to encourage you….
We must try. We must press in…. to the system and to God!
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flsnipe
Oct. 23, 2012 at 5:39amWait untill the 47% don’t get a check at the first of the month. Then it will get interesting around here.
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The_Jerk
Oct. 23, 2012 at 5:51amWe need to disconnect from the central banking power strip. Our wealth is being exported.
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NOFX
Oct. 23, 2012 at 5:03amSay I went to a professional school – Medicine, Dentistry, PA, Law, etc – and racked up $200K in student loan debt, and this “colossal mess” hit this country. How would that affect me? Assuming a had already graduated and had student loans, then what happen to them if we went to into hyperinflation? Basically, I’m curious about how our country’s economy going over a financial cliff affects debt, especially student loan debt.
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Dougral Supports Israel
Oct. 23, 2012 at 5:47amHyperinflation wipes debt out because it is easier to pay it off with the flood of worthless dollars. It also wipes out savings since money becomes essentially worthless. Hyperinflation destroys the economy because borrowing and saving are impossible. Its not a good way to get out of debt, paying it off is preferable.
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The_Jerk
Oct. 23, 2012 at 5:58amPaying it off is the only way. Inflation is disguised theft.
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NOFX
Oct. 23, 2012 at 6:53amThanks for the replies, guys.
“Hyperinflation wipes debt out because it is easier to pay it off with the flood of worthless dollars.”
That’s what I was suspecting but, yes, I agree with you both that paying it off would be the best way. I wasn’t thinking of the other side of the equation where, yeah, my money would become also worthless. But it seems like a general economic rule of thumb that the debtor, overall, is the one that gets the benefit from normal and hyperinflation.
But then I found this quote:
“I believe that the real benefactors of inflated paper currency are those that get the currency FIRST (wealthy/banks/business/large debtors). The real losers are those that get the currency last (wage earner/middle class/poor/currency savers/entitlement recipients).”
So it sounds like high inflation benefits the rich over the poor. Now I’m wondering if Obama or the FED has ever raised the rate of inflation as a weapon against the middle class to further divide the rich from the poor?
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landmark
Oct. 23, 2012 at 4:39amDavid Faber is right, we do need to cut spending in DC by a large amount!!
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DOra Glasberg
Oct. 23, 2012 at 5:24amCut the military in 1/2. Problem solved
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TheEndIsComing
Oct. 23, 2012 at 3:52amReduce that government by 50%? OK. I ask the Progressive Democrats to make the sacrifice (since they really don’t like our Constitution anyway) and volunteer to move to Tijuana, Mexico. Tijuana can’t be any worse so they can’t mess it up more than it already is.
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Mr Sanders
Oct. 23, 2012 at 2:02pmGreenland…. so they can micromanage the ice flows…. and maybe on the way out they can take the UN with them! ;-)
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Jenasus
Oct. 23, 2012 at 3:14amIron Mountain Blueprint to Tyranny is another must see video.
The videos cover pretty much everything our corrupt government is working toward.
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Jenasus
Oct. 23, 2012 at 2:34amThe only time a politician should get paid is when there is not a deficit.
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Jenasus
Oct. 23, 2012 at 2:28amNo s h i t Sherlock, It is just what I have been saying for the past year to cut the government by 50%.
At the same time you have to cut taxes to get business going in America again.
It just so happens this is exactly the opposite of what Obama is doing.
Obama is expanding government and raising taxes.
Obama’s only HOPE is to CHANGE America into a third world country like Kenya where he was born.
Obama is such a liar that he can not even admit who his real Dad is.
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NOFX
Oct. 23, 2012 at 2:23amHow about 99% so we can have a dictatorship
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PaulreveresDarknight
Oct. 23, 2012 at 2:21amPopular poll says drumroll please Start at the Top. The rascal illegiatmate Comuslim Traitor rookie racist chump hollow clown prince falls flat. Take a seat sir. Liscense revoked. Let an american take the wheel. God bless the USA!
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donkeykong
Oct. 23, 2012 at 2:21amMY #1 beef for over 20 years now….government has
grown, and continues to grow, such that it has now
exceeded the ability of those governed to support it.
Has anyone out there, EVER, heard of a government
agency, program, or branch that has been CLOSED?
NO YOU HAVE NOT. And, if there ever was such an
incident, all those employees would be “magically”
absorbed by another agency, or program. The closest
thing in my memory is when Reagan fired all the
air traffic controllers back in the 80′s. Still, all the slots
we re-filled. So, government NEVER gets smaller.
How many private-sector employees does it take to
support ONE government worker? (Including their
bloated pensions-for-life, healthcare, etc..)
Therein lies the problem. The FUTURE obligations
we pay to our “servants” exceeds our ability to pay
for them. What if everybody worked for the Govt. ??
WHO would pay then ?? Martians ?
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Mr Sanders
Oct. 23, 2012 at 2:08pmThe best thing that could happen is that everyone gets a pink slip on the first day, then they have to come back and justify their jobs, even their budgets… kind of like what we have to do out here past the 200Sq. Mi. bubble of DC.
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calmandcents
Oct. 23, 2012 at 2:14amNow we’re talking …… 50% ……….
An endorsement for a future:
Ron Paul for Treasury Secretary
Sarah Palin for Energy Secretary
Allen West Defense Secretary
????? for State Secretary
Eliminate all the others!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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NOFX
Oct. 23, 2012 at 2:21amSarah Palin can just stay away. She’s very patriotic but that’s it. It’s best she stays in Alaska.
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FstEti
Oct. 23, 2012 at 2:33amJohn Bolton would be my choice for Secretary of State, hands down!
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Jenasus
Oct. 23, 2012 at 2:42amNOFX, Sarah Palin is against the Luciferian New World Order.
I wish there were more politicians like her in our government to get the UN out of the free world.
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NOFX
Oct. 23, 2012 at 4:29amJenasus, I like Palin but she comes off as very naive. The left likes to label her an idiot but I don’t agree with that. She was a refreshing candidate in 2008 but I think she’s just smart and not brilliant by any means. I would rather have Mia Love.
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DOra Glasberg
Oct. 23, 2012 at 5:25amAlso Sarah is bizzy writing a diet book, and one more thing -she deranged.
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drs1969
Oct. 24, 2012 at 1:10amRe: NOFX
Mia Love? Another ‘creation’ of the establishment?
Great pick, if you’re in DC.
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GilbertAcct
Oct. 23, 2012 at 1:59amIf you think Romney or Obama will fix our fiscal mess, you are completely blind to reality. Both will take us off the fiscal cliff. It is irrelevant whether we are going 100 mph or 95 mph and whether we get Obamacare or Romneycare.
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Mr Sanders
Oct. 23, 2012 at 1:39pmNeither Mr. Romney nor the P will be able to build a bridge fast enough to avoid the financial horizon coming at US. At this point its triage, its who’s going to prepare US and hit the breaks . When the cliff comes and we don’t know how deep the trench is I’d rather be in a tractor trailer, slowing down, versus a Chevy Volt , flat out, batteries on fire with no brakes.
Its not upto one man. It will take a Lincoln Administration & Congress to start the healing, a Coolidge to setup for a future, a Reagan to Secure our Liberty, and a people ready, prepared, to help build/start a new economic engine.
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Mr Sanders
Oct. 23, 2012 at 1:54am“My medicine for the U.S. is this: Reduce government by minimum 50 percent,” he said. “The impact would be immediately an improvement in the economy.”
Sign me up – I’m in! I’ll support that, the repeal of H/C, all the other crazy regs that choke businesses, people & property rights, threaten our ability to have a real energy policy, and allow US to be more competitive and encourage investment.
Now… we just need 333 Men & Women, including a President, that has the political will [and doesn't care about a next term] to get the job done – wonder if that will happen?
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FstEti
Oct. 23, 2012 at 2:43amAgreed. I hope that the relatively silent majority in our Country, including Tea Party members, Black Christians opposed to same sex marriage and abortion, and Hispanics whose Catholic beliefs will supersede the illegal immigration issues, will again go to the polls in the numbers reflected in the Congressional Elections in 2012, and will not only vote for Romney but also will throw out MORE Democrats (particularly Senators), so that we will have a complete sweep. That said, unless we also throw out ALL of the career politicians and replace them with people who are not yet a part of the “good old boys club” in D.C., nothing will change; the same pork projects will get us to that fiscal cliff all the faster.
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Ilikepeople
Oct. 23, 2012 at 1:48amGee where have I heard “Cut the government by 50 percent” before? Either do it, or the U.S will eventually cease to exist.
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WakingSheep
Oct. 23, 2012 at 9:38amWe get to be a province in the NWO yeaaaa!!!!
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Sikki
Oct. 23, 2012 at 1:43am50% That’s a start!
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