CRISIS OF TRUST

The Era of Uncertainty

FULL REPORT
THESIS 2016 CRISIS OF TRUST

1/16/2016

1 January 2016 Edition

Copyright 2016 Gordon T. Long All Rights Reserved

Restricted & Confidential

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CRISIS OF TRUST
The Era of Uncertainty
THESIS 2016 ............................................................................................................................................................................... 4
WHERE CRISIS OF TRUST FITS ............................................................................................................................................................................4
ABSTRACTION PROCESS..................................................................................................................................................................................4
SPRING BOARDING FROM LAST YEARS FIDUCIARY FAILURE' ........................................................................................................................5
UNDERSTANDING TRUST ........................................................................................................................................................................................5
ROADMAP AHEAD .....................................................................................................................................................................................................7

1- LOSS OF CONFIDENCE & TRUST PUBLIC NO LONGER BELIEVES IN THE SYSTEM .................................................................. 8
GOVERNMENT, POLITICAL PROCESS & ELECTED OFFICIALS ..........................................................................................................................8
PEW Research: Beyond Distrust The 6 Key Findings on how Americans view their government ............................................................. 12
Trends ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 15
Trust In Government - At Historic Lows ......................................................................................................................................................... 15
Trust In Government By Generation ........................................................................................................................................................... 16
Millennials (18-34) hold slightly more trust in Government than All Older Generations. ........................................................................... 16
How Americans View Their Government .......................................................................................................................................................... 17
More are frustrated than angry at government .................................................................................................................................................. 25
Most say the government needs sweeping reforms .......................................................................................................................................... 26
Few think the government is run for the benefit of all people .......................................................................................................................... 28
Government viewed as wasteful and inefficient .............................................................................................................................................. 30
The Ascendance of Sociopaths in U.S. Governance ........................................................................................................................................ 33
BELIEF IN WIDESPREAD CORRUPTION IS DESTROYING TRUST ................................................................................................................... 36
Gallup Explains Trump: "A Staggering 75% Of Americans Believe In Widespread Government Corruption" ................................................. 36
How Corrupt Is the American Government? ..................................................................................................................................................... 38
The Rule of Law No Longer Exists In Western Civilization by Paul Craig Roberts, ....................................................................................... 43
Empires (Like the U.S.) Fall When Corruption Becomes Rampant .................................................................................................................. 45
New Poll Finds Whites And Republicans Are Angriest Americans ................................................................................................................... 47
INCREASED SCEPTICISM & FRUSTRATIONS AT THE POLLS.......................................................................................................................... 53
The Domain of Politicians - The Empty Promises of Quick Fixes .................................................................................................................. 53
42% of Americans Ditch Two-Party System, Say Government Is Biggest Problem ......................................................................................... 53
US 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ...................................................................................................................................................... 55
Republican Donald Trump ............................................................................................................................................................................. 55
Donald Trumps Platform ........................................................................................................................................................................... 58
Democrat Bernie Sanders .............................................................................................................................................................................. 76
Bernie Sanders on Wall St Reform and Financial Policy ........................................................................................................................... 76
What does Bernie Sanders believe? Where the candidate stands on 10 issues ...................................................................................... 76
EU UK, France & Italy..................................................................................................................................................................................... 79
UKs Jeremy Corbyn\ .................................................................................................................................................................................. 79
What does Jeremy Corbyn think? .............................................................................................................................................................. 79
FRANCEs Marie Le Pen ............................................................................................................................................................................ 82
Marine Le Pen and the French Far-Right ........................................................................................................................................... 82
ITALYs Beppo Grillio .................................................................................................................................................................................. 83
Why the rise of Italys Beppe Grillo proves political change comes from crazy people, not centrists....................................................... 84
CANADAs Justin Trudeau ................................................................................................................................................................................ 85
Who Is Trudeau? ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 86
INSTITUTIONS Crony Capitalists ......................................................................................................................................................................... 88
TRUST INDEX in Top Global Financial Institutions ........................................................................................................................................ 88
Confidence in U.S. Institutions Below Historical Norms .................................................................................................................................... 89
Americans Have Lost Confidence ... in Everything ........................................................................................................................................... 94
CENTRAL BANKS ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 95
We Are Reaching The End of Faith In Central Banking .................................................................................................................................... 95

2- DEMONIZATION OF OPINION & EXPRESSION (ERA OF CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE) .................................................. 96

MESSAGING THE MESSAGE The Obfuscation Ladder ..................................................................................................................................... 96
How It Starts ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 96
Control through Collectivism .......................................................................................................................................................................... 96
The Integration of Government and Corporations ......................................................................................................................................... 96
How it Happens?................................................................................................................................................................................................ 96
Controlling the Narrative & Message ............................................................................................................................................................. 96
The Art & Science of Herding Sheeple ........................................................................................................................................................... 97
Fencing versus Prodding ............................................................................................................................................................................... 97
NEWS MEDIA It Has Become Much More than Just Spinning the Message .................................................................................................... 99
National News Media (65%) and Entertainment Industry (56%) seen to have negative impact on the country .............................................. 99
How the Public Get Suckered By "News" Media Ignoring Reality .................................................................................................................... 99
CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE Why the Media isnt Trusted ................................................................................................................... 104
Manufacturing Consent The Herd Instinct ................................................................................................................................................. 104
When, What, How and Why Reporting versus Theme Positioning Journalism ........................................................................................... 104
Self Defense (War on Terror) versus Aggression, Invasion, Murder and War ............................................................................................... 104

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Make the World Safe for Democracy versus Regime Change ..................................................................................................................... 104
DEMONIZATION Herding versus Ostracism ...................................................................................................................................................... 105
Herding Bandwagon Affect ........................................................................................................................................................................... 105
Channeling & Fencing .................................................................................................................................................................................. 105
"Political Correctness" Is About Control, Not Etiquette ............................................................................................................................... 105
Ostracism - Protesting & Dissention ................................................................................................................................................................ 108
Prodding, Penalizing & Marginalizing .......................................................................................................................................................... 108
Whistleblowers versus Patriotism ................................................................................................................................................................ 109
WHERE IT IS TAKING US ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 111

3- ERA OF UNCERTAINTY A WORLD OF INCREASING UNCERTAINTY & RISK ........................................................................... 113

UNCERTAINTY - Lost Jobs, Benefits and Security .............................................................................................................................................. 113
World Economys Labor Pains ........................................................................................................................................................................ 113
Age of Global Economic Uncertainty Mohamed El-Erian ............................................................................................................................ 115
The Great Disruption: From Brawn to Brain .................................................................................................................................................... 116
UNCERTAINTY A Broken Social Contract ......................................................................................................................................................... 120
UNCERTAINTY - 2008 Crisis Fix .......................................................................................................................................................................... 121
UNCERTAINTY Size of Household Debt ........................................................................................................................................................... 122
Why household debt makes economies prone to crises of confidence .......................................................................................................... 122
UNCERTAINTY - Geo-Political .............................................................................................................................................................................. 126
Heightened Turmoil ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 126

4- CASUALTIES OF UNCERTAINTY ....................................................................................................................................... 127

SURRENDER OF INDIVIDUALISM FOR PERSONAL SECURITY & COLLECTIVISM ...................................................................................... 127
Do As Youre Told! The Case For Social Engineering ................................................................................................................................. 128
REDUCED RISK TAKING & LOST ENTREPRENEURAIL MOTIVATIONS ......................................................................................................... 132
THE DESTRUCTIVE FINANCIALIZATION OF CAPITALISM .............................................................................................................................. 136
ECONOMIC STAGANATION & DECLINE ............................................................................................................................................................ 137
UNDERSTANDING THE FOURTH TURNING ...................................................................................................................................................... 139
Fourth Turning Crisis of Trust Part 1 ......................................................................................................................................................... 139
Fourth Turning Crisis of Trust Part 2 ......................................................................................................................................................... 146
Fourth Turning Crisis of Trust Part 3 ......................................................................................................................................................... 155

5-HAYEKS ROAD TO SERFDOM A BLEAK PROGNOSIS ..................................................................................................... 164

MASSIVE TAX GRAB .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 164
City & Local Taxation Property Tax .............................................................................................................................................................. 165
State Taxation - Usage Fees, Licenses & Ticketing ....................................................................................................................................... 166
Federal Taxation - Global Wealth Taxation ..................................................................................................................................................... 167
REGULATORY CAPTURE .................................................................................................................................................................................... 170
NIRP & A Cashless Society Shackling the Masses ................................................................................................................................... 170

6-CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................................................................... 173

STAGNATION Stifling Risk Taking ..................................................................................................................................................................... 173
We Have Secular Stagnation .......................................................................................................................................................................... 173
Lack of Trust Caused by Institutional Corruption Is Killing the Economy ................................................................................................. 173
The Defining American Crisis our Corporate Media still cant be bothered to cover ...................................................................................... 181
LEADERSHIP - The Real Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................................ 183
Four Years Ago We Became Seriously Alarmed! ........................................................................................................................................... 183
We Focused, Mapped & Tracked It ................................................................................................................................................................. 184
Where We Find Ourselves Today ................................................................................................................................................................... 186
One Crisis Away from a Monumental Totalitarian Mistake ........................................................................................................................... 187
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT & FEDERALISM NEEDING REDEFINITION ........................................................................................................... 188
Texas Governor Calls for Constitutional Convention to "Wrest Power" From Obama ................................................................................... 188
The State of the Nation: A Dictatorship Without Tears ................................................................................................................................... 191
UNGOVERNABLE The Leadership Challenge .................................................................................................................................................. 195
Useful Idiots & Exorbitant Privilege ................................................................................................................................................................. 195
REMOVAL OF UNCERTAINTY & GAINING TRUST Develop a Personal Plan ................................................................................................ 198
Weve Forgotten the Lessons of History ......................................................................................................................................................... 199
Beyond Partisan Politics .................................................................................................................................................................................. 199
PROSPER How to Prepare for the Future and Create a World Worth Inheriting ........................................................................................ 199

January 2016 Edition

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Copyright 2016 Gordon T. Long All Rights Reserved

Restricted & Confidential

general@GordonTLong.com