Summary of Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift

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In the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the significance of understanding the relationship between energy and money, particularly the role of oil as a critical energy source and its impact on the US dollar and global economy. Gromen argues that the US dollar's status as the world's reserve currency is based on the availability of energy, and the increasing energy demands from countries like China and India could lead to explosive oil demand and unsustainable debt levels. He also highlights the historical relationship between oil and the US dollar, explaining how the disconnection of the dollar from gold in the 1970s allowed the US to control the price of oil and ultimately win the Cold War. Gromen suggests that investors should prepare for a massive economic shift by considering commodities , gold, inflation-protected assets, and understanding the second derivative impacts of technological advancements. He also emphasizes the importance of considering the role of energy in the economy and the potential consequences of relying too heavily on debt and unbacked promises.

  • 00:00:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Groman discusses the importance of understanding the relationship between energy and money. He argues that the S&P 500's total return of 75% in dollars since January 2020, compared to gold's return of 15% and bitcoin's return of -81%, indicates that the denominators of these markets are significantly different. Groman believes that the price of oil is about to force a massive monetary system change, and understanding this relationship is essential for those on the "bankless" journey. The episode explores how energy is the base layer of money and how finance is built on top of commodities and resources. Groman provides actionable ideas on how to prepare for this shift, including hints about the demise of the 60/40 portfolio. The episode emphasizes the importance of being informed about how energy resources impact economies and financial markets.
  • 00:05:00 In this section of the podcast, Luke Gromen, the founder and president of Forest for the Trees (FFTT), discusses his thesis on an upcoming monetary system change. According to Gromen, the market is not recognizing the exponential deflationary impact of productivity enhancements from AI and humanoid robotics. He argues that these advancements are incompatible with the current debt-backed monetary system, which requires exponential growth. As a result, when wages decrease due to automation, people will not be able to afford their debt payments, leading to defaults and bank failures. Central banks, holding large amounts of sovereign debt, will have to print more money to buy these bonds, leading to inflation and making it difficult to afford essentials like housing and cars. Additionally, Gromen mentions the increasing cost of finding marginal sources of oil and other resources needed for the transition to renewable energy, which will require higher prices and more inflation. Overall, Gromen believes that these factors will lead to a massive economic shift, making it crucial for investors to prepare accordingly.
  • 00:10:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the significance of energy consumption and its impact on debt and asset prices. He explains that as China and India gain the ability to print their currencies for oil, their per capita oil consumption will rise, leading to explosive oil demand. This dynamic, along with the trend of higher interest rates, points to the unsustainability of the debt-sovereign debt-backed system. Gromen argues that the market has not fully priced in these factors and that energy is the base layer of money, as human life is finite and work is the expenditure of energy. The price of energy plays a crucial role in the affordability of debt and assets, making it a critical factor to consider in understanding economic shifts.
  • 00:15:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the importance of energy as the base layer for money and the economy. He explains that if energy becomes too large a percentage of the economy, it becomes difficult to pay back debt due to the lack of funds for interest payments. Similarly, if governments make unbacked promises, such as sovereign debt and entitlements, they risk defaulting on these promises or inflating the energy market to back them, leading to inflationary impacts. Gromen questions whether central bankers, including the Federal Reserve, understand this fundamental relationship between energy and money, and why there is a lack of awareness about energy's role in the economy, despite its significance to the US dollar and financial capital markets. He argues that the US military's actions securing energy sources have allowed people to ignore the issue, making it central to the US empire and the life of every living thing on the planet.
  • 00:20:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the fundamental importance of energy for Empires and economies. He explains that Empires require vast amounts of energy to function and maintain their power, and they have historically used various methods to secure it, such as enforcing deals where other countries must buy oil in their currency or invading countries to replace leadership. Gromen argues that the US dollar's status as the world's reserve currency is based on the availability of energy, and if the US runs out of energy, the dollar's value will plummet. He believes that the US should have focused on building up domestic infrastructure and alternative energy sources instead of relying on oil. China is an example of a country that has been doing this for the past 15 years. Gromen suggests that the US dollar's "arc" or dominance is coming to an end, and this is why global central banks have been buying gold instead of US Treasury bonds.
  • 00:25:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the historical relationship between oil and the US dollar. He explains that from 1970 to 2003, the price of a Treasury bond and a barrel of oil were roughly equivalent, with oil trading between $15 and $30 per barrel and Treasury bonds providing the same value in oil terms. This arrangement, known as the Petro-dollar system, allowed the US to maintain the dollar's value as good as gold for oil. However, around 2004, factors such as China's entry into the WTO and the peaking of major oil fields caused oil prices to surge, making the dollar and Treasury bonds less valuable in energy terms. Central banks began shifting their reserves from Treasuries to gold as a result, recognizing the need for a reserve asset that holds its value in energy terms. Gromen emphasizes that this fundamental monetary reality, where paper money will not hold its value against energy for long, is a crucial consideration for understanding money and the role of energy in the economy. When asked about the focus on barrels of oil, Gromen may view it as a fungible and composable energy unit, historically significant due to its role in the Petro-dollar system.
  • 00:30:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the importance of understanding the role of oil as a critical energy source and its significance as a denominator for measuring investment returns. He emphasizes that oil is still the biggest marginal source of energy and the primary transport fuel in a globalized economy. Gromen also highlights the difference between dollar returns and real returns, arguing that most people still assume the dollar equals oil, which is not the case. He warns that the debt load of America cannot sustain the dollar's equivalence to oil and that we are witnessing a break from this assumption in real-time.
  • 00:35:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the relationship between the US dollar and oil prices, which he believes is breaking down once again. He explains that this relationship, which was established in the late 1970s when the dollar was as good as gold for oil, was disrupted in the mid-2000s when oil prices spiked and then re-established during the Shale Miracle. However, US Shale production is now flatlining, and to maintain production levels, higher prices are needed. This, in turn, requires higher inflation, which could blow up the bond market. Gromen argues that we are entering a period similar to the one seen in the early 2000s when the dollar's tie to energy was recognized as broken. He suggests that investors should consider owning commodities, gold, and industrial stocks, as well as inflation-protected assets, as the dollar's relationship to energy shifts once again. Gromen also touches on the idea that technological unlocks can decrease the price of energy in Fiat terms, but over time, energy prices increase due to supply and demand dynamics.
  • 00:40:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses how the disconnection of the dollar from gold in the 1970s allowed the US to win the Cold War by controlling the price of oil. Prior to this disconnection, the price of oil was linked to gold, making it more expensive for the US to obtain oil from volatile regions like the Middle East. To counter this, the US disconnected the dollar from gold, causing the price of oil to increase significantly. This strategic move allowed the US to print dollars to buy oil, while the Soviet Union, which relied heavily on oil revenue, could not. Additionally, the higher oil prices made previously uneconomical oil basins, such as those in Alaska and the North Sea, affordable to exploit, leading to a surge in oil supply and eventual victory in the Cold War. Gromen also mentions that the technological advancements in fracking in the late 2000s were facilitated by the declining value of the dollar against oil. Overall, the disconnection of the dollar from gold was a geopolitical game-changer that allowed the US to control the price of oil and ultimately win the Cold War.
  • 00:45:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the relationship between oil, currencies, and the global economy. He explains that as the value of a currency weakens, oil becomes more expensive to purchase in that currency, following a version of Gresham's law. Gromen also mentions that energy prices have been relatively cheap for the past 40 years, leading to a kind of energy "blindness." When asked about potential energy "miracles" that could solve the energy problem, Gromen cautions that it's essential to consider the second derivative impacts of such developments. Regarding the monetary system and the US dollar's global reserve currency status, Gromen asserts that gold is replacing treasuries as the primary reserve asset. This shift, driven in part by the rising price of oil, will ultimately force a repricing of the dollar, making it weaker. Gromen has previously stated that this change will be significant, with oil prices working against the dollar rather than supporting it as they have in the past.
  • 00:50:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the prediction made by Kyle Bass in 2019 about an impending Chinese currency crisis and economic collapse. However, Gromen explains that this hasn't occurred because China has been able to pay for energy and commodities in its own currency instead of dollars. China has been buying oil fields, refineries, ports, coal mines, copper mines, and gold in other countries, and in return, receives the commodities in Yuan. Russia, for instance, uses the Yuan to buy Chinese goods and whatever is left over is used to buy gold outside of China. China's strategy allows for local currency net settlement in gold, making gold a significant player in the global economy as it becomes the preferred means of settling oil and commodity imbalances. The annual dollar value of the oil market is 12 to 15 times larger than the physical gold market, and gold needs to get much larger to keep up with the demand for local currency net settlement.
  • 00:55:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift", Luke discusses the shift in the global economy away from the US dollar as the primary reserve currency, specifically in relation to oil and commodities. He explains that China and other countries no longer need to store US Treasuries as commodity reserves, and instead, they are adjusting terms of trade using gold and oil ratios. This transition is driven by geopolitical necessity and is self-reinforcing. When the US treasury market breaks, the Federal Reserve injects more dollar liquidity, causing the dollar to go up and interest rates to rise. However, the US government cannot afford much more than 4-5% on the ten-year treasury, and when it hits this point, the treasury market will break again. This systemic transition is significant because China is the world's biggest commodity importer, and Russia is the biggest commodity exporter. As they adjust terms of trade, gold goes up, and the US will periodally inject more dollar liquidity to keep the system going. The speaker also mentions that new projects are coming online every week, and Mantle is one of the best foundations in crypto for building on. Additionally, there is a promotion for Transporter, a token bridging app designed to give users peace of mind when moving assets across blockchains. The speaker also mentions a mobile-first blockchain called Just Send It Cell, which is designed for fast, low-cost payments and is seeing a meteoric rise in usage. He also brings up data points such as China's record buying of gold and the first time China's trade has been settled in its own currency, RMB.

01:00:00 - 01:30:00

In the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the potential erosion of the US dollar's dominance in the global economy due to China's increasing use of alternative payment systems and currencies. This shift could lead to insufficient foreign demand for US Treasuries, causing decreasing bond prices and increasing interest rates. Central banks' decisions to support bond markets over currency markets have led to money printing and asset inflation, while long-term treasuries underperform. The US, with historic debt levels and a large federal debt projected to reach $25 trillion in the next five to seven years, faces the possibility of extreme measures such as revaluing gold on the balance sheet or implementing capital controls, potentially resulting in wealth confiscation or bond holder losses. Gromen suggests preparing for the upcoming economic shift by keeping a portion of bond investments in T-bills, investing in industries that will benefit from the reshoring and reindustrialization of the US economy, and avoiding high-risk investments. The geopolitical impacts of the US having more interest expenses than defense spending could significantly change the world by the end of the next presidential term. Gromen encourages listeners to join the "bankless journey" and explore the frontier of finance together, but emphasizes the risks involved.

  • 01:00:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the potential erosion of the US dollar's supremacy in the global economy due to China's increasing use of alternative payment systems and currencies. Gromen explains that this shift could lead to insufficient foreign demand for US Treasuries and an exponentially rising supply, resulting in decreasing bond prices and increasing interest rates. The US, which has amassed a large debt over the past 25 years, faces a choice between bailing out the currency or the bond market. If the US lets the market determine interest rates, the dollar could become the strongest currency, but US interest expense would eventually overtake tax receipts, leading to either default or hyperinflation. However, Gromen predicts that the US Federal Reserve and Treasury will continue to intervene to prevent treasury market volatility and keep interest rates low, weakening the dollar and causing inflation in assets and other areas.
  • 01:05:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the economic implications of central banks' decisions to support bond markets over currency markets. According to Gromen, when central banks make this choice, they are essentially printing money, and the winners and losers in these scenarios are clear. He uses charts of various assets, such as the S&P 500, NASDAQ, gold, and long-term treasuries, to illustrate this point. Gromen argues that when central banks inject money into the economy, assets like stocks, gold, and real estate outperform, while long-term treasuries underperform. This situation reinforces and accelerates the sovereign problem, where there is not enough demand for treasuries. Gromen also compares the US economy to Japan and Argentina. While Japan has more debt than the US, it has a positive net international investment position, meaning it owns more assets overseas than foreigners own of it. The US, on the other hand, is externally funded and needs negative real interest rates to finance its deficits, which means taking money from bondholders as the value of those bonds declines. China, which runs a current account surplus, is in a different position, with more money coming in every year. Gromen warns that the Fed's balance sheet, which is currently around 35% of GDP, could hockey stick and reach levels similar to the Bank of Japan's balance sheet, making the economy feel like Argentina, where the value of the currency and bonds declines significantly.
  • 01:10:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift", Luke Gromen discusses the potential economic consequences of the US federal debt reaching $25 trillion in the next five to seven years. He compares this situation to Argentina, where bond holders suffered significant losses. Gromen explains that if the demand for US bonds does not keep up, the government may need to take extreme measures, such as revaluing the gold on the US government's balance sheet or implementing capital controls. These measures could result in the government confiscating wealth or forcing bond holders to accept less than the face value of their bonds. Gromen notes that the US has already been experiencing financial repression since 2014, with various regulations incentivizing pension funds and banks to buy more US Treasuries. He also mentions that the Federal Reserve Operating Manual includes provisions for the Treasury Secretary to revalue the gold on the US balance sheet, which could result in a massive increase in the money supply and US debt.
  • 01:15:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the potential for massive economic shifts due to historical mistakes with borrowed money and the quiet conversion of financial asset ownership from legal ownership to a general claim on legal ownership. He mentions the book "The Great Taking" by David Rogers, which outlines how policy makers have taken ownership of most financial assets over the last 30-40 years, leaving individuals with little chance of getting their assets back in the event of a financial crisis. Despite the weakened state of the US with historic debt levels, high interest rates on debt, and other challenges, Gromen remains bullish on the US over the next two decades due to its strong legal system, property rights, and certain areas of the country that he is more bullish on.
  • 01:20:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the upcoming economic shift in the US, which he believes will involve high inflation, industrial policy, and wage explosions. He references Winston Churchill's quote about Americans doing the right thing after exhausting all alternatives and suggests that bond holders will be negatively impacted. Gromen acknowledges that the outcome between now and then may vary, but ultimately, the US will need to clear the decks on debt and start utilizing its advantages instead of maintaining the real value of the bond market. He criticizes the poor economic decisions made by Washington DC over the last 40 years and argues that the middle and working classes have been subjugated to support Wall Street and certain DC interests. Gromen suggests that this shift may result in a debt jubilee for some Americans, particularly those in the bottom 50% in terms of net worth. Overall, Gromen argues that this economic shift, while challenging, is necessary for the US to come back stronger.
  • 01:25:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses how investors should prepare for the upcoming economic shift, which includes high energy prices and a potential monetary system change. He suggests that the traditional 60/40 equity to bond ratio is no longer effective and recommends keeping a portion of bond investments in T-bills, while the rest should be allocated to gold and Bitcoin. Gromen emphasizes the importance of low leverage and avoiding consumer loans and high-risk investments. He also suggests investing in industries that will benefit from the reshoring and reindustrialization of the US economy. Gromen warns that the volatility in the market will be high and stresses the importance of staying calm and not over-trading. He believes that the shift is already underway and could continue for months to years.
  • 01:30:00 In this section of the YouTube video titled "Luke Gromen: Why you Should Prepare for a MASSIVE Economic Shift," Luke Gromen discusses the potential geopolitical impacts of the United States having more interest expenses than defense spending. He believes that the world could look significantly different by the end of the next presidential term in 2028 due to the exponential nature of compounding interest. Gromen's insights on energy and related topics were highly informative, and listeners are encouraged to sign up for his weekly report and follow him on Twitter for further discussion. However, it's important to note that finance and crypto involve risks, and investors could potentially lose their investments. Despite the risks, Gromen invites listeners to join the "bankless journey" as they explore the frontier of finance together.

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