DREW BESSETTE: --in between here and there, how do individuals stay afloat through the
turbulence, and why do we have to embrace change and in times like this?
Or what is the risk of not embracing change?
MICHAEL KRIEGER: Right.
So it's going to be difficult.
And this is what really makes me a little bit sad over the coming, let's say, months
or even years is that we already have a situation where the bottom half of the population in
the US is so stretched.
And this is what I wrote about in my "Financial Feudalism" piece-- you know, that they've
taken on so much debt just to survive to try to buy housing.
So for example, one of the big problems is 40 years ago or so, if you look at the ratio--
two important ratios-- the ratio of income, let's say real median income, to housing prices
or real median income to a college degree, you / those things were attainable for people
without taking on an enormous amount of debt and then still barely being able to make your
mortgage payments.
It was an attainable thing.
And we were, as I mentioned earlier, at the beginning of a huge asset boom.
So you had all these generations that were able to buy all these things at reasonable
valuations.
And we were in the beginning of an asset boom.
Now we're at the end of-- most likely the end of this 40 year debt bubble.
And asset prices may not increase like that going forward.
I mean, they probably won't.
And so you know what's going to happen to young people?
I mean, what's going to happen to young people with a ton of debt?
They can't afford a house now.
They're not having children because of that insecurity.
I don't know, you know?
I understand-- as much as I disagree with the actual policies, a lot of policies, of
Sanders, I understand his supporters.
I understand why they're gravitating to that because it's this desperation.
I mean, if I were 30 looking to start a family and I wasn't in a fortunate position I'm in
and I have a lot of debt and I'm looking at the future, I'm thinking, this is extremely
bleak.
So I don't know how we're going to help that.
I don't know how that gets worked out.
It could get worked out by gigantic deflation, I suppose.
But I don't know if that's the right solution.
So I mean, the truth of the matter is, it's still too early to know how this is going
to help out.
But we really need to be thinking about the fact that an entire generation isn't forming
families and is completely indebted.
And so we're just so far gone, we've lost compassion, empathy.
We're not thinking about our fellow people at all in this crazed pursuit of asset bubbles
and power.
We just need a complete revival.
We need an ethical revolution.
That's the real-- a consciousness revolution.
I mean, if there's one revolution I want to really see, it's that.
And that's as I was mentioning earlier with the individual.
It starts with you.
It starts with your mind, starts with your consciousness, all of us, because right now,
we're an extremely unconscious, unethical, immoral people, quite frankly, as a whole
and particularly the people in leadership positions, the people with the resources.
And I've been very frustrated, you know, because I was in a job that paid very well.
I also come from a privileged background.
I've had things pretty easy compared to a lot of other people.
And so I've seen it as my sort of duty to speak out and try to do what I can.
But what I noticed is 99% of my socioeconomic class does nothing of that.
They're just completely obsessed with this tunnel vision of getting more and being richer.
And there's nothing wrong with wanting nice things and being successful.
But to just completely be OK with the hollowing out and predatory nature of our society and
culture to our fellow people, to just not care at all, is horrible.
And I hope we change.
DREW BESSETTE: Well, I mean, I don't want to leave on that dark of a note, but we're
just running out of time here.
We could change, and that's positive.
That's the beautiful thing about it is it's really-- the decision is up to each and every
one of us.
And so with that, we're going to leave you.
I mean, I could talk to you for another five hours.
This is such a pleasure for me despite the dark topics we kind of touched on.
But if you want to learn more from Mike, check it out from libertyblitzkrieg.com.
Obviously, we're going to have more and more interviews like this.
So hopefully, we can get you the best information as soon as possible.
And for Real Vision, I'm Drew Bessette.
Thanks for joining us.