Glenn Beck Says if This Happens, It'll Make the Great Depression 'Look Like a Picnic

Glenn Beck has been warning for years that the financial situation of the United States is unsustainable. On Friday, he delved deeper into what the world could look like in the event of an economic collapse.

"My kids ask me all the time, 'Dad, what do you mean? What do you mean money is going to collapse? What do you mean the system is going to shut down for a while? What does that even look like? ... What I mean by that is, it's an event unlike anything at least this generation -- and I believe anything like the world -- has ever seen before."

Beck described the situation as a "catastrophic failure and reset" that will mean "we don't know what we're doing for a while."

"We all kind of have to figure it out on our own," Beck continued. "And most likely, at least for a while, it ends in martial law and ... some pretty frightening times. The Great Depression would look like a picnic, quite honestly."

Glenn Beck speaks on his radio program May 1, 2015. (Photo: TheBlaze TV)

Beck brought in James Rickards, who recently released a book called "The Death of Money: The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System," to weigh in on the possibilities.

"I agree. I think we can see it coming," Rickards said. "One of the things is -- let me talk about what it's not going to be like. I don't think we'll all be living in caves [eating] canned goods. It's not the end of the world. We make it through, but it's a different world when we come out the other side."

"Mussolini's mantra was, 'Everything in the state, nothing outside the state,'" Rickards continued. "Well, you get to a world where the government controls all the money. Everything, first of all, is all digital. We all think we have money, but how much cash do you have in your pocket? A couple bucks maybe? You get a direct deposit of your pay. You pay with credit cards. You pay with debit cards. You pay online. You wire money. It's all digital. Well, that means it can all be controlled. That can all be taken over by the government."

"In case you don't know who Jim is, because this sounds crazy, doesn't it?" Beck interrupted. "Here's just a little bit about him -- portfolio manager at the West Shore Group, an adviser on international economics and financial threats to the Department of Defense and the U.S. intelligence community. [And] you did the first financial war game at the Pentagon. So this is not someone who is like, 'Yeah, I live in my mom's basement.'"

Beck asked Rickards: "How much of this makes you feel like, 'I don't want to believe this. But it's just the fact.' Because it really sounds nuts."

"I hope I'm wrong," Rickards said. "I don't think I am. At least I wouldn't be writing and doing interviews if I thought I was wrong. I'm trying to warn people. People say I'm giving predictions, but I don't think of myself as giving predictions. I think of myself as giving warnings."

Rickards said there is no reason America needs to have the kind of future he is describing, and there are certainly ways to avoid it.

"But I think it's likely because the things that you need to do to prevent it from happening are actually, in our politically dysfunctional age, they're unlikely to happen," he concluded.

You can see more from the interview, below.

Complimentary Clip from TheBlaze TV

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