Stephen Lendman: Grim 2012 Economic Outlook!!

Year's end is not just about holiday season binge shopping, parties, and over-indulgence. It's also when economic predictions surface. The Wall Street Journal publishes consensus views. On December 23, it headlined, "Risks Cloud Outlook for Economy in 2012," saying: "The economy is poised for another year of muddling through. Most private economists forecast a modest 2% growth rate for the US, with a pace subdued by housing woes, a lackluster job market, and cuts by government." "They also warn of potential spillover from weaknesses abroad, including a mild recession apparently underway in Europe." Concerns and uncertainties highlighted include global weakness, threatening US exports, weak housing demand with foreclosures affecting prices, protracted unemployment and weak job creation, and government belt tightening. Overall, mainstream economists predict continued recovery from crisis conditions beginning in late 2007. In fact, heading into it, they forecast continued good times. According to former market analyst Bob Farrell: "When all the experts and forecasts agree, something else is going to happen." In other words, when mainstream consensus forecasts one way, expect another. On December 22, on the Finance News Network, investor/author/analyst Jim Rogers sees current problems worsening because of too much spending and debt. Asked to elaborate on what matters most, he said "too much debt" is problem one, because the Fed "keeps printing money." It spells trouble because it won't stop until "systemic collapse." "It's going to be very, very serious pain. You're going to see riots in the street. You're going to see serious, serious problems, perhaps more war."No matter who leads America, he added, he has "absolutely no confidence at all that anything's going to be done!"