People were far, far tougher in the 1920s and 30s. Very few soft and coddled fatties were around as the welfare state was in its infancy. The thrift and make do and mend mentality is beyond most people's living memory. The mindless throwaway consumerist society and Mammon has been the norm for most of us. I've stated before, but for one - Housing Benefit - of the dozens available there'd be more homeless today than in Victorian times. If and when the state becomes bankrupt then those who are most dependent upon it for income, including those six million public sector workers, 12 million State Pensioners, etc, etc, will endure the most hardship.

Returning to financial markets, we can only guess at what the action portends. Should a capitulation event occur, say for argument's sake stock markets bomb 20%-30% in a single day, then it'll be time to panic.

Brandon Smith, whose latest article I posted on this page, is convinced it's the beginning of a deliberate collapse designed to inflict so much suffering that people will beg for a new system.