Putin ready for European pivot East to Russia & China: Are you?

By Ronald Holland

"The 'Silk Road' plan is expected to change the world political and economic landscape through development of countries along the routes, most of which are eager for fresh growth," Xinhua wrote. Beijing hopes that annual trade volume between China and "Belt and Road" countries will "surpass 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars in a decade or so," -  Chinese President Xi Jinping

Today Greece is a tiny microcosm of much of Southern and Eastern Europe. All have too much government debt owed to distant mega banks, massive underemployment, weak energy starved economies and rule by distant, unelected, EU bureaucrats. These problems are combined with minimal prospects for new sources of government funding and private investment.

The solution is not to be found with the failing EU but rather looking east toward energy rich Russia and wealthy China ready to do business with Europe. The new China Silk Road Eurasian land bridge with highway, pipeline, rail and infrastructure development that will bring together China, Central Asia, Russia and Europe may well be the singular investment opportunity of the 21st century.  

Also read: Greek crisis to trigger financial tsunami across Europe

This project like the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) created by China and joined by most of Europe is an attractive funding alternative to the Washington dominated IMF and World Bank.  Just as Europe broke ranks with the US on the AIIB, they will also look east and away from the US leadership for the peaceful economic benefits of Silk Road.

The bottom line is Washington's "help" usually means military intervention and overthrow of governments in nations ranging from Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya and now the Ukraine and all have been massive failures for the citizens of these countries bringing only war and destruction to advance American hegemony. Contrast this destruction to the economic, funding and trade benefits of the Silk Road land route running from China and Asia all across Russia to Europe through Moscow and crossing into Europe in historic Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Europe will turn east because they need to grow their economies with secure and cheap energy, investment funding, and exports to Asia rather than end up an economic basket case like Greece.  The same goes for military confrontation with Russia as advocated by American neocons that prefer to start wars for others to fight.

The Greek Catastrophe Continues With No End In Sight

This is simply a horrific object lesson for other nations that might allow voters to decide their future in or out of the EU.  The EU hates voter choice and referendums because historically it has not fared well when membership is open to public debate and vote. They prefer the easier alternative of simply buying off politicians, elected officials and "cooking the books" to guarantee eligibility and new EU nations.

The Troika and their misnamed EU bailouts to Greece are used as a cover to funnel money back to ensure German bank solvency all the while the Greek people suffer at the hands of an EU leadership desperate to hold their illegitimate powerbase together. By all appearances Greece, the original cradle of democracy, will be destroyed for the twin cardinal sins of threatening to withdraw from the autocratic EU and for allowing a voter referendum to choose their future.

This German led economic revenge today is eerily reminiscent of Second World War German military doctrine and anti-partisan actions in both occupied Europe and the Soviet Union. This utilized collective punishment and collective guilt reprisals against innocent civilians to quell nationalistic guerilla uprisings. Now as well as then, massive economic reprisals against civilians are being used to keep the Greek politicians and government in line and to re-establish order and control directly from Berlin and Brussels and the powerful Troika of creditors.

Too Much Debt Is the Problem & the EU Has No Solution

The problem faced by most of the nations of Europe as well as America is too much debt accumulated by their political leaders who have been paid off or blackmailed by the NSA into borrowing too much today to be paid back by future generations designed to benefit a few major banks, the central banking cartel and Goldman Sachs type wannabes in Europe. While massive debt has created fantastic revenue streams for a few favored financial institutions, the result has been catastrophic for workers, retirees, and young people.   Most western democracies have unredeemable government debt loads like Greece that over time will sink their economies into permanent recession and depression unless a solution is found.

Also read: With Russia, Nato acts like Hitler

Also expensive NATO, both the military component of the EU as well as the vassal state control mechanism of US domination in Europe, a relic of an earlier Soviet and Eastern Bloc military threat to Europe now has no real purpose.  Therefore, US neocons and the US and European military industrial complex must create a threat to increase government funding and weapons sales. Their target is Russia now the premier military and energy power of the new Eurasian defensive bloc that has the audacity to say no to the Washington World Order.

The crippled, over-indebted, anemic economies of Southern and Eastern Europe need massive funding to restore prosperity, competiveness and economic growth to escape the government debt quagmire, unemployment and permanent recession in Europe today. But Europe like the United States can only borrow and kick the day of debt repayment and reckoning down the road until credit markets rebel and interest rates skyrocket. This will force a quick economic death only delayed by controlled and manipulated markets, fake statistics and controlled media, editorials and news.

Get Ready For The Fast Changing 21st Century World

The world has indeed turned upside down in the 21st century from the 20th century when the American economic miracle and military supremacy helped to win World War Two, overcame the Great Depression and Washington served as a beacon to the world for prosperity, free-markets and limited government.  Today America is known far more for military intervention abroad than economic development like the Marshall Plan that helped Europe recover from World War Two.

Who could have imagined that the failed economies of the communist Soviet Union or Mao's China that formerly led the world in wealth and property confiscation in the 20th century would today promote capitalism, guarantee secure wealth and property rights better than the EU or the U.S.?

Also read: East or West, Russia is Russia

What Should Individual Europeans and Americans Do To Benefit From A Future Greek Tragedy Type Debt & Dollar Crisis?

1 - First consider investing in European, Chinese and Russian companies that will likely grow and profit from the pivot to the east through Silk Road.

2 - Reduce long-term holdings in both the dollar and euro, as the eastern transition will likely contribute to the death of the petrodollar system resulting in a far weaker dollar and the European Union as well as the euro may be a failed currency experiment whose time has past. In fact, I believe Europeans should promote their nation's bail-out of the EU rather than risk a bail-in of bank deposits to fund favored banking institutions at the expense of depositors and investors.  

3 - Extreme levels of American and European government debt almost guarantee bond defaults and banking problems in the future.  You probably already know the benefits of owning secure gold during political, financial and geo-political crises but the last thing you should do is store the gold in a bank safe deposit box, in your home nation jurisdiction or hold certificates that may or may not have the gold they promise. Read more about secure foreign gold storage here.

5 - Defend your bank savings and investment wealth from confiscation in an economic crisis. Recent events in Crete followed by Greece and soon Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and other eastern European countries may find a substantial portion of their personal and retirement assets confiscated to bail out bankrupt governments and favored banking cartels in a serious crisis situation.

6 - Today across Europe and America, everyone's bank account and investment portfolio is at risk of future bail-ins, deposit hair-cuts, emergency "one time" crisis taxes on all but the smallest accounts. The solution is to invest a portion of your assets secured in offshore locations far away from the greedy tentacles of psychopathic politicians and bureaucrats.


7 - Entrepreneurs should consider learning Russian or Mandarin and consider moving to China, Russia or Europe to be part of the new Silk Road economic miracle that will tie Europe, Russia and Asia together.

Russian Opportunities

Russia historically is part of Europe and it has the nationalistic political leadership, political polling support and military defensive capabilities to defend foreign investor wealth and bullion storage from aggressive confiscatory moves to protect favored banking cartels in the EU and US. The Russian banks and secure lock box depositaries would do well to establish programs and wealth storage facilities for foreign investors and foreign gold storage programs. This would be a profitable market niche to offer American and European investors wanting wealth safe haven protection.

Change Is In the Air With the Silk Road Economic Belt

The days of U.S. dollar and economic supremacy are ending as Asia rises. Just as Europeans and Asians came to America in the 19th and 20th century to take part in our economic miracle I believe the tide of investors and entrepreneurs will now trend east toward Russia and China as they increasingly shed the dead weights of centralized planning and communist ideology. If only the Washington and EU political and banking elites would see the future in free-markets and capitalism, but they remain stuck in the past for now.  

Also read: How Turkey and Russia are changing interntional energy hub

Putin and China are ready as the world transitions from a Washington led unipolar world to a multipolar world. The Washington and Wall Street establishment can see the handwriting on the wall and this is why America is so aggressive internationally in oil and energy rich regions playing its last strong hand, the ability to project military power around the world by air, naval and land forces. But these forces are short handed and over deployed and this increases the risk of an incident turning into a military conflict.  

The Silk Road land route and economic belt will bring Asia, Russia and Europe together with core cities benefiting from infrastructure development, economic growth, free trade zones as well as financial integration, bilateral currency swap deals outside the dollar and funding for the infrastructure, belt and transportation components.  This is truly a once in a lifetime economic opportunity for entrepreneurs willing to take a risk for a more prosperous and peaceful future in the 21st century.
 
Just as historic Venice led Europe through trade with Asia out of the cultural and economic Dark Ages into the Renaissance rebirth following the fall of the Roman Empire, this could happen again through the open-door to Asia through Saint Petersburg, Russia the Venice of the North. Who wants to be a modern-day Marco Polo with me?

Ronald Holland

Ronald Holland is the author of several books as well as numerous special reports and hundreds of articles on finance, investments, history and politics. He speaks and moderates frequently at financial and free-market conferences and has developed Swiss oriented financial products in the US and Switzerland and his lived and worked in the US, Switzerland and Canada. He was head of a bank trust department, president of an investment firm licensed in 47 states. He currently serves as a consultant to BFI's Bastion Physical Gold in Malta and other business interests.