More of the Same

• More money printing by central banks. A trillion here and a trillion there, printed money everywhere.

• More deficit spending. $3 Billion per day, but who cares?

• More useless commentary about controlling spending, but the result will be increased spending and more useless commentary.

• More and higher taxes. More consumer price inflation.

• More QE. Printing money props up the stock market, but for how long?

• More debt. More student loans, more credit card debt, more mortgages, more sovereign debt, and eventually some nasty defaults.

Less of the Same

• Less Congressional credibility - low and going lower.

• Less belief in a better future. It is difficult to believe in a brighter future when the food stamps and welfare payments just don't buy what they used to.

• Less employment. People continue to drop out of the employment statistics because they have given up hope of finding work. This is called "structural unemployment."

• Less purchasing power for the dollar. The more the central banks print, the higher the cost of food, fuel, beer, and wine.

• Lower standard of living. With much higher costs, the standard of living for most Americans will continue to decline.

About the Same

• The media will continue to assure us that gold is in a bubble - a decade of nonsense - wrong then and wrong now.

• The media will assure us that silver prices are volatile. That and $2.11 will buy a grande coffee.

• Inflation and unemployment will continue to be under-reported, even in non-election years.

• Congressional accomplishments will continue to be over-reported.

• SNAFU: System Non-functional, All Funding Unlimited.

• TBTF banks will remain Too Big To Fail.

• European financial troubles will continue. Ditto for Japan, the UK, and the US.

• The Federal Reserve will bail out banks and fund much of the government deficit. They will claim this benefits both employment and the economy. That benefit plus $2.11 will buy a grande coffee.

Non-Predictions for 2013 and 2014

A train wreck is in process. We have been warned. Protect your finances, investments, and retirement. The official numbers may not represent reality.