As I’ve stated since the beginning of this year, 2015 is shaping up to be a poor year for the US economy and the global economy as a whole, people will look back on this year and 2016 (which I believe will see a continuation of the slowdown experienced this year) and see a slow motion train wreck happening.
Each passing week seems to bring more and more abysmal news from some part of the world, despite the spin that Wall Street and the Mainstream media attempts to put on things. Some of us, see through their rose colored glasses and are preparing for an economic collapse that will dwarf that seen in 2008.
Those who are preparing, are doing so in a vast variety of ways that are equally important, but the one I focus on the most through my writing is of course, preserving and securing your wealth in the coming turbulence via precious metals, most notably, gold and silver.
Not only do I believe that this is possible, as history has shown that time and time again, precious metals can and will see you through the dark times, when order is restored and the balance to the markets comes back into focus, precious metals will still be there and an ounce of gold will still be an ounce of gold. Unfortunately, history has shown this is not always the case for fiat money.
Lending further credit to my observations is the staggering number of retail stores in America alone that are either going under, or being forced into closing a large amount of their stores.
The Economic Collapse blog has gathered a list from about.com, which paints an incredibly grim picture. Below you will see a sample of the major outlets shutting their doors across America:
180 Abercrombie & Fitch (by 2015)
75 Aeropostale (through January 2015)
150 American Eagle Outfitters (through 2017)
223 Barnes & Noble (through 2023)
265 Body Central / Body Shop
66 Bottom Dollar Food
25 Build-A-Bear (through 2015)
32 C. Wonder
21 Cache
120 Chico’s (through 2017)
200 Children’s Place (through 2017)
17 Christopher & Banks
70 Coach (fiscal 2015)
70 Coco’s /Carrows
300 Deb Shops
92 Delia’s
340 Dollar Tree/Family Dollar
39 Einstein Bros. Bagels
50 Express (through 2015)
31 Frederick’s of Hollywood
50 Fresh & Easy Grocey Stores
14 Friendly’s
65 Future Shop (Best Buy Canada)
54 Golf Galaxy (by 2016)
50 Guess (through 2015)
26 Gymboree
40 JCPenney
127 Jones New York Outlet
10 Just Baked
28 Kate Spade Saturday & Jack Spade
14 Macy’s
400 Office Depot/Office Max (by 2016)
63 Pep Boys (“in the coming years”)
100 Pier One (by 2017)
20 Pick ’n Save (by 2017)
1,784 Radio Shack
13 Ruby Tuesday
77 Sears
10 SpartanNash Grocery Stores
55 Staples (2015)
133 Target, Canada (bankruptcy)
31 Tiger Direct
200 Walgreens (by 2017)
10 West Marine
338 Wet Seal
80 Wolverine World Wide (2015 – Stride Rite & Keds)
Even taking a brief look at this list, you have to ask yourself why is Wall Street and why is the Mainstream media telling me the economy is recovering? I say what recovery!
If the economy was growing and prospering, you would never see so many businesses shutting their doors, the simple fact is, the man on the street doesn’t have the disposable income they once had. They have faced or are still facing dire straights and are finally waking up the fact that a tight grip on their wallets may be the best course of action at this time.
The government, the media and Wall Street know this, they know that this game of musical chairs will end eventually. The question is, are they prepared and more importantly, are you prepared?
