A Message From Davos: Quantitative Easing Alone Won’t Solve Europe’s Ills

Davos, Switzerland:  Financial markets have been obsessing for months about the timing, size and structure of a European Central Bank bond-buying programme that seems likely to be unveiled today.

But business leaders, policymakers and celebrity academics gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos had a message for all the “quantitative easing” (QE) enthusiasts: don’t count on the ECB to resolve Europe’s economic woes.

In the Year 2024

 

[Editor’s Note from Jim Rickards: The following article describes a fictional dystopia in the spirit of Brave New World or 1984. It is not a firm forecast or prediction in the usual analytic sense. Instead, it’s intended to provide warning, and encourage readers to be alert to dangerous trends in society, some of which are already in place. Thank you.]

As I awoke this morning, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, from restless dreams, I found the insect-sized sensor implanted in my arm was already awake. We call it a “bug.” U.S. citizens have been required to have them since 2022 to access government health care.

The bug knew from its biometric monitoring of my brain wave frequencies and rapid eye movement that I would awake momentarily. It was already at work launching systems, including the coffee maker. I could smell the coffee brewing in the kitchen. The information screens on the inside of my panopticon goggles were already flashing before my eyes.