There have been a lot of arguments put forth about Trump’s border wall idea.

Some say such a wall will do nothing to stem the tide of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States through our southern border. Others argue that the hundreds of miles of border can only be secured by a well constructed barrier.

The following chart from The Daily Caller should put any debate over the matter to rest.

The data is compiled from immigration statistics by the Hungarian Police and shows that not only does such a wall work, it begins working almost instantly.

Several European countries have erected fences to keep migrants out, and, according to the numbers, every case appears to have a large impact.

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When the fence went up Oct. 17, the influx went down to 870 from 6,353 only a day earlier. Illegal border crossing were steadily below 40 per day throughout the rest of the month

The numbers speak for themselves.

We now have proof of concept for how to mitigate and eliminate the immigration crisis facing the United States.

Are our elected officials prepared to step up and do what needs to be done?

Hattip The Daily Caller via Zero Hedge

Also Read:

Watch: How Liberals React When Asked to House An Illegal Immigrant Child In Their Homes

Obama Unleashes Open Border Free-for-All: “Might As Well Abolish Our Immigration Laws Altogether”

Watch This Angry Foreigner: Here’s What Happened In Sweden When Muslim Immigrants Swarmed Their Country

Immigration End Game Revealed: New Law Would Give Illegal Immigrants The Right To Vote, Collect Government Benefits

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

For those who think the U.S. economy is going under, a report from Reuters suggests you’re just peddling fiction.

According to official data there is nothing to worry about. We are not only not in recession, but the economy is fundamentally strong and only getting stronger.

Relatively strong consumer spending underscores the economy’s underlying strength and should further allay fears of a recession, which triggered a massive stock market sell-off early this year.

…

“The consumer is back in the driver’s seat. There is no sign of recession in these data so this will put a smile on Fed officials’ faces and argues for their policy of gradual interest rate normalization to continue,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York.

GDP growth was initially estimated to have risen at only a 0.7 percent rate. The economy grew at a 2.0 percent pace in the third quarter and expanded 2.4 percent for all of 2015.

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two thirds of U.S. economic activity, rose at a 2.4 percent pace and not the 2.0 percent rate reported last month. More consumption of services than previously estimated accounted for the revision.

Though at first glance this report may sound convincing, as is normally the case with official data and the mainstream propaganda that follows, some key points have been ignored.

First, while the economy officially grew at a rate of 2.0%, when you adjust for built-in upside bias to official reporting according to ShadowStats.com, we actually had a negative growth rate of nearly -2.0%.

Second, as Michael Snyder recently noted, some 23% of Americans in their prime working years are currently unemployed, so we’ve seen absolutely no real jobs recovery and those jobs that have been created are generally low-paying:

When you look at only Americans that are from age 25 to age 54, 23.2 percent of them are unemployed right now.  The following analysis and chart come from the Weekly Standard…

“There are 124.5 million Americans in their prime working years (ages 25–54). Nearly one-quarter of this group—28.9 million people, or 23.2 percent of the total—is not currently employed. They either became so discouraged that they left the labor force entirely, or they are in the labor force but unemployed.This group of non-employed individuals is more than 3.5 million larger than before the recession began in 2007,” writes the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee.

…

Clearly, we have never recovered from the impact of the last recession.

So if this many Americans are unemployed and wages are dropping nationwide, where is the consumer getting the money to boost spending by 2.4%?

The answer comes to us directly from the Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit report.

According to the Fed, revolving consumer debt increased a whopping 5.6% during the fourth quarter of 2015, which means that the GDP growth rate and consumer spending growth was largely driven by… you guessed it, debt.

The government and our central bank will continue to play these games until such time that a majority of Americans end up jobless, starving and without future prospects as the middle class is slowly but surely wiped out.

We are already seeing the cracks, as evidenced by a recent report that Walmart Customers Are Too Broke To Shop.

As trend forecaster Gerald Celente once warned, when that day comes and people have lost everything and have nothing else left to lose, they will lose it.

We are being told that whatever issues there may have been are now largely resolved. But just as was the case in the months leading up to the crash of 2008, the signs are everywhere. And just as happened in 2008, the Panic will hit with full force, much to the surprise of most:

So, what happens when the Panic of 2016 happens?

The Panic of ’08 helped wipe out the middle class… this is going to eliminate it to a large degree, because they’re deep in debt…

…

The markets have been artificially juiced up… so when this thing comes down it takes the top down… the last time it pulled out the bottom… so this is going to be a top-down crash.

And there’s not going to be anything to pump it back up because they’ve blown all their ammunition…

We encourage our readers to prepare accordingly.

Also Read:

Trend Forecaster Gerald Celente Warns: Prepare For The Panic Of 2016: “History Will Remember This”

Venture Capitalist Says Investors Are Terrified Of Market Volatility And Weak Economy: “They Are Scared And Don’t Know What To Do”

This Is How Bad The Economy Really Is: “Walmart Customers Are Too Broke To Shop”

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

With stocks having rebounded following a major down-swing earlier this year, it’s all smooth sailing going forward if you believe the mainstream financial pundits and renowned economists who continue to encourage the general public about the unfettered strength and stability of the U.S. economy. But according to well known venture capitalist and resource sector investor Carlo Civelli, last week’s Fed action, or rather, inaction, suggests that exactly the opposite is the case.

It goes to show that the economy is not as strong… or the markets were too volatile even for Yellen to stomach.

In his latest interview with Crush The Street Civelli explains why the stock market is the only game in town for many investors, why people are being forced into negative yield investments, how stabilizing stocks markets doesn’t necessarily translate to a healthy economy, and where to position yourself today to avoid the wealth destruction to come:

(Watch at Youtube)

It was just a few months ago when the Federal Reserve was so proud of their work that they took to raising interest rates and announcing that no more monetary action would be necessary. And, though most of the investment world would like to believe that the best and brightest central bankers on the planet have everything under control, it turns out, as Civelli notes, those who are manipulating the global economy, financial markets and monetary policy actually have no clue as to the consequences of their actions:

Nobody, not even the central banks, knows how this is going to end. They keep on pumping money…  

Volatility in financial markets has left an air of uncertainty across the globe. So much so, says Civelli, that many of the investors he talks to on a regular basis are just as concerned about the unknown as the Fed, with many either sitting in large cash positions, making risky stock market bets in an effort to generate some yield on their investments, or willing to pay governments to keep their money “safe”:

The central bank of Switzerland, for example, has a negative interest rate of 0.75%, so you’re paying the bank 75 basis points to keep your money there… and therefore people even go to the extreme of buying a Swiss government bond with a negative yield of, say 35 points, which makes them still up 40 points… it’s getting ridiculous.

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What else do we do with the cash? Everybody I talk to holds unprecedented cash positions, is scared and doesn’t know what to do…

So the only way out right now is to play the stock market.

And then, as we can see in January and February.. if something that was not in the cards happens, the markets go wild.

The unpredictability of central bank and government action has left many anxious and confused.

But despite the challenges being faced by most investors, there are still opportunities available. Civelli, who is focused on acquiring assets while they’re cheap through his latest project Callinex Mines, remains positive that precious metals will weather the storm of unprecedented monetary intervention from central banks and the consequences that will follow:

The consensus, obviously in a situation like this, would be that gold has to go up.

For investment reports, interviews, and market analysis visit Crush The Street.

Click here to learn more about Carlo Civelli’s latest investments and projects.

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Up until January, the majority of people assumed that governments and central banks had everything under control. Zero-Interest and Negative-Interest rate policies coupled with unprecedented monetary printing appeared to have stabilized the economy and financial markets. But then something broke. Stock exchanges crashed following the New Year and investors the world over went into panic mode. They sold pretty much everything, including oil and the oft touted Internet 2.0 behemoths that were, in some cases, selling at 500 times their earnings. It was a rush for the exits.

But as we’ve noted repeatedly in recent years, when financial panic, confusion and uncertainty take hold, the smart money will rapidly moves into wealth preservation assets of last resort. And, this is exactly what we saw over the last two months. Though broader stock markets were crashing, precious metals and the companies that mine them exploded to the upside. Exchange traded funds that track gold were up double digit percentages and in some cases stock prices nearly doubled.

With more economic machinations from the powers that be sure to come and a currency crisis looming, what we recently saw with gold and silver is just a small preview of how precious metals will behave during serious and sustained market disruptions. Some analysts have suggested that the next stock market crash will be deeper and more violent than what we saw in 2008. And as Future Money Trends notes in their latest video below, that could mean massive moves for gold:

We believe the gold price will go absolutely ballistic… with a repricing of a level of $10,000 per ounce or higher as predicted by former CIA adviser Jim Rickards.

(Watch At Youtube)

And how does one position themselves to take advantage of this crisis asset of last resort?

Holding the physical asset in the form of bullion is, of course, highly recommended.

But for those with investment accounts like 401(k)’s or IRA’s, consider following China’s lead:

For 7,000 years man has mined gold deposits, making it possibly one of the most reliable businesses in human history… and one of the smartest because owning a gold mine allows you to keep producing the gold after your initial investment…

Think about it, for all of human history gold is so precious, so rare, that if you took all the Egyptians mined… the Romans… and everything since… we would only have three Olympic sized swimming pools full of gold.

The headlines for gold these last few years have all focused on physical gold accumulation by China, Russia and Eastern central banks… but what they have missed is a 7,000 year old strategy that China is doubling down on… According to data compiled by Bloomberg, in 2013 asset purchases by Honk Kong and mainland miners increased by $2.2 billion. China is buying gold mines at a record.

…By August of this year Chinese influence will have infiltrated the biggest financial institutions in the world with China only revealing their physical bullion above ground while saying nothing about their mine acquisitions. This explains their long-term strategy to implement some form of gold-backed currency.

The world may well be on its way to the largest gold rally of our lifetime. 

When it comes to positioning oneself for crisis, gold and silver have stood the test of time for thousands of years. There will no doubt be ups and downs going forward, but the trend is clear.

For more videos, interviews, news and commentary visit Future Money Trends.

Click here to learn how you can follow China’s strategy of accumulating mining assets ahead of the next bull market.

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Earlier this week hedge fund manager Marin Katusa explained that up until the recent stock market hit all the easy money flowing into the energy sector was being exuberantly spent on hookers, blow and fancy toys. Now, as oil prices hover under $40 per barrel, Katusa said more pain is likely coming and oil, along with other asset classes, are going to go “lower for longer.”

In a recent interview with Future Money Trends, trend forecaster Gerald Celente echos Katusa’s concerns. Having accurately predicted the Crash of 2008 nine months ahead of the bottom falling out on a global scale, Celente says another panic is coming this year.

But if you thought 2008 was bad, says Celente, this crash will be so severe it’ll be one for the history books:

…51% of the people in the United States that are employed are earning under $30,000 a year… Less than half the population is considered middle-class in America… the gap between the rich and the poor is as bad as it was at the worst times of the Gilded Age going back over a hundred years.

So, what happens when the Panic of 2016 happens?

The Panic of ’08 helped wipe out the middle class… this is going to eliminate it to a large degree, because they’re deep in debt…

Watch Gerald Celente discuss his trend forecasts for everything from politics and the economy to wealth preservation strategies and entrepreneurship in times of crisis:

Now, what this is going to do… it’s going to knock out the top… and the top survived the other crash because the top are the ones that are totally leveraged out… there’s no more savings anymore… there’s no more savings anymore… it’s only markets because of zero interest rate policy.

The markets have been artificially juiced up… so when this thing comes down it takes the top down… the last time it pulled out the bottom… so this is going to be a top-down crash.

And there’s not going to be anything to pump it back up because they’ve blown all their ammunition…

Visit Future Money Trends for news, strategies for protecting your wealth and more interviews like the one posted here.

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com