Brutal Austerity: the contagious global dysfunction

brutal austerity and market contagion.

Both of these dysfunctions remain deeply embedded in the global economics of 2015.

Latest:

February 2016: Austerity politics in Ireland set to upset the power base
February 2016: Brutal Austerity in New Zealand The southern city of Christchurch has suffered over 15,000 earthquakes since the initial M7.1 in September 2010 and the people of the region are still suffering greatly.

Feb 21
Hundreds protest in Christchurch, New Zealand on the eve of the 5 year anniversary of the powerful, destructive 2011 earthquake that upended the lives of so many.
Seemingly unending delays in resolving insurance claims with the government's quake commission are a symptom of not only a broken system, but also an underlying ideology that gives little value to human suffering when compared with dollar driven agendas.
Feb 17 In a broader context of widespread cuts across the heath sector in New Zealand, including mental health support, hundreds of Christchurch children have been assessed as suffering from post traumatic stress disorder in respect of the ongoing earthquakes since September 2010 but only 8% have received counselling. A university study of a sample of 320 children tracked since 2013 showed 64% had negative mental health indicators -report

 The 16th highest quake, a M5.75 occurred in February 2016, just days ago, on the 14th.

data from QuakeLive

The right wing NZ government under John Key has overseen the harshest treatment of any community, perhaps in NZ history. Ranging from major problems for people facing loss or damage of their home and property - and their entitlement to fair compensation, to the way in which personal mental and psychological trauma has been catered for.

• Many still have outstanding property claims unresolved. report

•  government funding for counselling and related services in the region has been decimated since 2015 -despite increases in suicide callouts and children with trauma related behaviours.

The government took 4 months to release this information to a state radio journalist. 

The Ministry of Social Development response in full facsimile is available 
Multiple news items re the Feb 16 2016 quake have spoken of the psychological impact, even in the face of limited degrees of damage to assets.The government agenda places no value on human life.
It is nonsensical to expect people with major trauma to be healed as quickly as broken bones.They are broken people and may need life long support. 

On February 16 2016 a further example of NZ government extreme austerity arises in the form of a plan to slash over $138 milllion in hospital operating costs

This arises despite years of lengthy waiting lists, significant patient disastisfaction levels, declining levels of care, as well as over-stretched staff.Even in the land once referred to as Godzone, brutal austerity is now well entrenched.

Malcolm Justice on Twitter Feb16 2016

 

Brutalism is a term commonly applied to a stark architectural style but a sector of humanity was not satisfied with their widespread imposition of dehumanising structures to service commercial, civic as well as domestic needs.
The dysfunctional ethos of brutalism is clearly widespread in the management of national economies across the globe.

What was once simply austerity has morphed into brutal austerity in the global context and brutalist economics have a lot in common with brutalist architecture. 
The tower block accommodation for low income renters has not a shred of humanity infused into its style or construction.

UK, Europe are known for brutalist housing

Brutal austerity has led to public dissent in nations including Greece, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Ireland the United Kingdom, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand....as well as many more unlisted here
Not surprising then, that global humanitarian organisation OXFAM, whose motto is the power of people against poverty, issued a 2013 briefing paper entitled

A CAUTIONARY TALE The true cost of austerity and inequality in Europe.
Take the time to hear the counter argument to brutal austerity: the humane, humanitarian, compassionate view
This organisation is unafraid of placing political challenges to those wielding economic power.
If it were only Europe...but it is not...and before Europe was another failed austerity experiment: Latin America...and before that....yes this disease has deep roots.

Quoting Joseph Stiglitz:

Greece could be blamed for its troubles if it were the only country where the troika’s [the IMF, European Commission,& the European Central Bank] medicine failed miserably. But Spain had a surplus and a low debt ratio before the crisis, and it, too, is in depression. What is needed is not structural reform within Greece and Spain so much as structural reform of the eurozone’s design and a fundamental rethinking of the policy frameworks that have resulted in the monetary union’s spectacularly bad performance.

and

Seldom do democratic elections give as clear a message as that in Greece. If Europe says no to Greek voters’ demand for a change of course, it is saying that democracy is of no importance, at least when it comes to economics. Why not just shut down democracy, as Newfoundland effectively did when it entered into receivership before World War II?
One hopes that those who understand the economics of debt and austerity, and who believe in democracy and humane values, will prevail. Whether they will remains to be seen.

No surprises then when austerity can be proposed as a defective and dysfunctional systemic approach, that market contagion also references disease.

The disease rests in the human mind and in particular in the beliefs of those who erroneously believe they can disconnect themselves from their natural condition: we are all collectively embedded in an energetic feedback loop, inseparable from each other's discomfort and suffering.
In the bigger picture, the human collective is a super-organism and the Land of the Broken Foot is equally sensed in the super-organism's consciousness as the Blinded Eye-Lands and the eruptions of Mount Appendix.

But this is an astrology blog so it is useful to look
at past, present and future indicators that cycles related to the planets can deliver.

No single factor determines particular cycles, but certain factors can be seen to recur.
Cycles are based on energy -and various permutations can deliver equivalent forces. 

Saturn is the planet and Capricorn is the zodiac sign relating to austerity.
When combined -Saturn in Capricorn - the positive conservative, cautious energy balance can tip into severe restraint, failed practices and policies.

Jupiter is the planet and Sagittarius is the sign related to prosperity and growth.
When combined the energy balance can tip into excess, over-production.
When Saturn is in Sagittarius or Jupiter is in Capricorn we potentially have a mismatch if these contra-forces are not well balanced eg under-growth or over-growth.

[ The economy is a garden. Chauncey Gardiner was right]

When each planet is in its own sign it has free reign to be a peak positive expression -unless another planet is in conflict or contradiction at that time, altering the energy balance.

When Saturn is in conflict - at a stress angle like 45, 90 or 180 degrees in respect of Jupiter -then growth is curtailed, over-supply is a problem.

Jupiter when in Cancer is likely to inflate housing values.

New Zealand experienced a property boom starting

2001 when Jupiter was in Cancer. The 12 year cycle

returned in 2013 and house prices rose by 9.8%

The momentum from 2001 lasted till 2008 in New Zealand but housing values did not rise significantly until the return of Jupiter to Cancer in 2013.

Pluto is transformative energy. 
Conditions can change fundamentally and extremely.

Pluto in Sagittarius [1995-2008]has an influence on growth.

Pluto in Capricorn [2008-2024] has an influence re austerity

So what can be shown from the past is that:
Jupiter in Capricorn 1925-1926 US boom years

Saturn in Sagittarius Dec 1926-Dec 1929 -decline led into Great Depression

Saturn in Capricorn Dec 1929-Nov 1932 - events created worst years of Great Depression

Saturn in Sagittarius Nov 1985-Nov 1988 - period re the 1987 market crash

Saturn in Capricorn Nov 1988-Feb 1991 worsening effects from '87

Saturn at 90 degrees to Jupiter Dec 2005 flaws that led into 2007 GFC

Jupiter in Sagittarius Nov 2006-Dec 2007 -excesses leading to GFC

Jupiter in Capricorn Dec 2007-Jan 2009 -excesses curtailed.

The omens were bad when Pluto and the Sun conjuncted in Sagittarius as Jupiter entered Capricorn on Dec 18 2007.

The capacity of Plutonic energy to destroy much of the excesses in the system is well documented here.

Pluto entered Sagittarius in Nov 1995 - a period lasting till January 2008.Then began the Plutonic focus on Capricorn territory -business, government, austerity [2008-2024]

Saturn again in Sagittarius from Sept 2015-Dec 2017 is likely again to signify issues related to excess and imbalance as in past cycles [1920's, 1980's]

Saturn in Capricorn Dec 2017-Dec 2020 has the

potential to run to extremes before any relief from 

the potential psychopathic brutality of Saturn combining with Pluto [yes, real psychopaths have this pattern]

2019 is a year to watch in this regard in the build up to the exact Sun-Saturn-Pluto in Capricorn conjunction [22 degrees] of January 13 2020.
At the same time, Mercury is very close at 24 Capricorn; Jupiter will also be in Capricorn then, but at 9 degrees -not close enough to the other 3.

This momentous month January 2020 could see a

socio-economic transformational point that signif

ies the emergence over time of restructured governments and governance, reforms in housing policies, business practices, taxation, and a new consciousness re how governments are essentially elected to nurture, guide and mentor citizens towards their capacity for positive collective contributions.

Instead governments have styled themselves as primarily a source of power and control and as a corporate business. This is not their critical role. This is a distortion based on human inadequacy.
It may be too much to expect an enlightened leap within the space of a mere 5 years.

If extreme imbalances as evident in 2015 like in recent prior years, regarding all manner of inequality and injustices affecting fundamental human dignity, show no definitive practical signs of being corrected by 2020, we face a grim, dystopic era of greater dissent and adversity, and by sheer force of numbers, greater collective inhumanity, all magnified by globalization, than ever in our history.

update June 20 2015

Thousands march in anti-austerity protests across Britain

Updates and further material will be added 

due to the sustained prevalence of this issue

July 2015 sees the forces of austerity arise again in determining a path forward for Greece.

Market contagion displayed in the context of the Chinese sharemarket crisis.

Both of these effects correspond to forecasts published for the July period, extending further... read more in July 2015 forecast and Astrology for China & World Economy

November 2015 Brutal poverty in US 

South


September 2016
Brutalist architecture sees revival

Inequality & the Misuse of Power

Robert Wade, Professor of Political Economy, London School of Economics has contributed to a new book - Inequality : a New Zealand Crisis.

It will surprise some that the minion nation of New Zealand is spoken of in the same breath as the US and the UK when discussing the politics of inequality. Reagan and Thatcher are well known internationally for their shared idealogies. In New Zealand it was surprisingly through the conduit of Labour Party politician Roger Douglas, that Rogernomics came to shape the future of political economics in this nation.

                   Robert Wade spoke recently to Kim Hill on Radio New Zealand

To broaden the perspective on global inequality economics, Naomi Klein's book Shock Doctrine and the doco of that name will be worth the effort

Inequality and the misuse of power go hand in hand.

This era of the Occupy Movement, the Arab Spring, the crises in Syria, Greece, Spain, Brazil, Turkey - to mention those bubbling away at the top of the heap, and the likelihood that we are witnessing the decline of the West* can be considered within the context of cyclic forces which destroy and renew everything in existence.
The forces referred to exist in the totality of existence - which is conceptually limited at this point to the billions of galaxies, in which our Milky Way Galaxy and our earth-connected solar system are found.
Using that context as an integrated holistic energetic network, we inhabitants of Earth and everything else located on and comprising our home planet are continually subjected to solar and cosmic radiation from deep space. This high energy mix of photons, protons, electrons & even more exotic elements of the quantum domain, is identified by mainstream science as having verifiable affects on biological and terrestrial systems and structures.
Beyond the limited, non-holistic, compartmentalised world view of the establishment's scientific advisors are scientists who are able to transcend their specialised focus and comprehend the system mechanics and critical cyclic functioning of every aspect of the whole from the smallest to the most vast ingredients.
Knowledge of the principles of holography is useful here - and the relevance of that model to a theory of the workings of material reality including the human brain - read for example Michael Talbot's Holographic Universe - or view some related content online
One method of holographic analysis involves sampling - for example: observing the main players in our solar system and then seeing what occurs on Earth - since humanity, the natural world & environment, human built creations and systems -all are equally subject to recognisable cyclic effects.
Where certain humans fail majorly is in thinking that our species is beyond nature and immune from the forces at work in the larger solar and galactic cyclic systems
Recurrently through human history, certain people are driven to seek excessive power and control over others and to command a degree of control over material/financial resources in a manner which is commonly called greed.
Inequality and the misuse of power are perennial issues but if humanity has any hope of existing through more enlightened times, these plagues must be eradicated to a far greater degree than we are witnessing even as the second millennium unfolds.

Rebalancing gross imbalances is a process observed during the Uranus-Pluto cycle** - in recent eras this occurred in the 1960's - with a conjunction or exact alignment of these two in one sign -  when social unrest and dreams of a better world collided.
The period 2012-2016 in particular is marked by the next phase in the readjustment process - with Uranus and Pluto positioned at a right angle to each other -exact 90 degree separations occur 7 times within the time frame covered:
Uranus square Pluto   June 24 2012 –      8 degrees Aries-Capricorn
Uranus square Pluto   Sept 19 2012 –      6
Uranus square Pluto   May 21 2013 –       11
Uranus square Pluto   Nov 1 2013 –         9
Uranus square Pluto   April 21 2014 –     13
Uranus square Pluto   Dec 15 2014 –      12 
Uranus square Pluto   March 17 2015 –   15 degrees
[data table proved by ElsaElsa]

These 2 planets continue to remain in close contact even at the point of entering into 2016 -separated by 1.5 degrees on January 1, increasing to 2.5 degrees by the end of March and gradually widening in 2016 to around 4 degrees at year's end.
This is still a close enough energetic connection to generate further upheaval until at least 2017 gets underway - especially when a new cycle involving Uranus kicks in in December 2016 -Uranus at 20'34 Aries will be in exact opposite alignment to Jupiter at 20'34 Libra. The most recent prior event point for this particular cycle was January 2011 when both Jupiter and Uranus reached 27 Pisces. Global news soon resonated with two relevant events  - major earthquakes in Christchurch New Zealand and offshore from Japan -the latter bringing a major tsunami - but excess water via liquefaction was also an issue in Christchurch. Neither of the devastated zones in those countries has reached recovery.
In Dec 2016 the elements of Air [wind] and Fire will relate to the environmental activities of Jupiter & Uranus bringing heatwaves, drought & wildfires in vulnerable zones - but in socio-economic terms balancing the books, evenness and fairness [Libra] will be significant issues to rebalance the selfishness [Aries] of greed.
Libra and Aries are the classic indicators of peace and war and the struggle to find a middle ground or resolution amongst various opposing factions across the globe has been intensified since the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction at 0 Aries in June 2010 - conflicts at a personal or local level, within and between nations are all to the forefront making it critical that the escalation is halted and the suffering is reduced across humanity.

If by December 2016 there is not significant progress made in the redistribution of power so that elitist regimes - even in so-called democratic nations - have had their excesses curtailed then the struggle for greater equality may well reach even greater intensity in December 2016 and the early months of 2017 when Pluto's position in Capricorn interacts strongly with Jupiter in Libra by 90 degree square. 

The Full Moon of January 2017 sees the Sun and Moon at 22 Capricorn-Cancer; Pluto nearby at 17 Capricorn; Jupiter at 22 Libra at odds with those 3; Uranus at 20 Aries affecting all others and finally Saturn in Sagittarius at 22 degrees. 
Time is needed to ponder the implication of all that - so updated commentary will be added.

Understanding that the energetic forces expressed through the symbolism of planets and signs, is critical here and that the known thematic expressions have multi-level applications. 
This means that individual as well as the smaller network and larger collective of humanity are all affected, as is the planet earth itself, the environment, the natural world in total, as well as all things and systems created.
It takes particularly powerful effects to have widespread impact such as a global recession -experience points to the involvement of Pluto, Uranus and Jupiter commonly paired or in a trio with Saturn or Mars.
The general rule is, particular people and places are most affected by any ongoing pattern of energy due to their vibrational resonance with that energy field. 
The rest of us are affected on a lesser or indirect level - eg the person experiencing an injury in an accident is most affected; a passerby who helps that injured person gets some emotional or psychological effect; those who watch a news report showing the accident are indirectly affected as well if they feel sympathy or shock.
In this respect, the system of astrology identifies the who and where of karma being manifest, paid off or burnt up -effectively a good thing, though experienced as bad - because the balance has more chance of shifting one's life to a better place after that type of purging or debt payment has been made

[update September 5 2013]
As revealed by Edward Snowden -the UK Guardian reports on the widespread misuse of power by global security agencies in collusion with internet service providers to enable invasion of privacy re millions of people's online activities and communications -report

                                                      SHOCK DOCTRINE

                                                             MICHAEL TALBOT

update January 2015
The UK Mail online reveals the pace and extent of land dispossession in the period 1776-1887, suffered by Native Americans at the hands of European colonizers, revealed in a stunning time-lapse video accounting for the loss of 1.5 billion acres.
This cultural annihilation represents a clear case of collective power abuse.
By 1800, Native American land amounted to just 15%, having lost 85%.
The energy igniting this oppression was the square between Pluto and Saturn -an exact square from Pluto at 26 Capricorn to Saturn 26 Libra in November 1776 -again in cardinal signs [2012 -2016 also cardinal emphasis]  - shows very clearly the dominant collective political forces enforcing an unjust rebalancing.
view here

*The West Declines
**Uranus-Pluto cycle
Uranus-Pluto square from 2012 -exact dates