Those in Europe or North America may have noticed that governmental restrictions in their home country appear to be on the increase and that, in fact, the velocity of that increase is itself increasing.

One possibility is that the financial problems of Detroit and other bankrupt US cities will be advantageously transformed by politicians into social issues, rather than economic ones. And as a result, the US federal government could institute a sort of “No City Left Behind” bailout policy.

At some point, confiscation of deposits by banks may well become a generally accepted concept. The point to remember is that such developments never begin with a bang. They are always introduced in a small and gradual way and then expanded, just as income tax was in the US.

As a general rule, it may be useful to assume that, whatever the reader presently imagines is likely to occur in this period, the reality is likely to be worse – unpredictably so. If he follows this assumption and it proves incorrect, he has lost nothing. However, if he is correct, his likelihood of surviving the crisis well will be greatly increased.

As a general rule, it may be useful to assume that, whatever the reader presently imagines is likely to occur in this period, the reality is likely to be worse – unpredictably so. If he follows this assumption and it proves incorrect, he has lost nothing. However, if he is correct, his likelihood of surviving the crisis well will be greatly increased.

The fact that the tipping point began in Cyprus, rather than, say, Greece or Spain, is incidental. Of all the dominos slated for demolition, it is unimportant which country was the first to set the dynamite charge at its foundation. The end result will be contagion, as all other options have, predictably, failed.