People want to know why this is happening. <strong>And</strong> peopleare prepared to act. . . .<strong>LaRouche</strong>’s ForecastsLyndon <strong>LaRouche</strong>: Thank you, young lady! Thankyou very much.We are now in times, as you shall soon discover,throughout <strong>the</strong> United States, throughout <strong>the</strong> hemisphere,and throughout Europe in particular, we’re livingin times of <strong>the</strong> type that most of you living today havenever dreamed could happen, let alone experience.I am a forecaster, among o<strong>the</strong>r things, and probably<strong>the</strong> best economist in <strong>the</strong> world. <strong>And</strong> that’s not a brag,that’s simply a fact. I made some discoveries back in <strong>the</strong>course of <strong>the</strong> late 1940s, early 1950s, and as a managementconsultant, I applied some aspects of my discoveriesto <strong>the</strong> current situation at that time, 1956. I was looking at<strong>the</strong> situation, 1955-1956, in <strong>the</strong> automobile and o<strong>the</strong>rindustries in <strong>the</strong> United States, and I said, “This has cometo an end. We’re going to have, by early 1957, <strong>the</strong> deepestrecession of <strong>the</strong> post-war period.” <strong>And</strong> in February 1957,we had <strong>the</strong> deepest recession of <strong>the</strong> post-war period.Encouraged by that, I went fur<strong>the</strong>r with long-rangeforecasting, based on an understanding of <strong>the</strong> characteristicmistakes built into <strong>the</strong> current policy of <strong>the</strong> 1950s of<strong>the</strong> United States,including <strong>the</strong> policiesof Arthur Burns. <strong>And</strong> Iwarned, I said we face<strong>the</strong> following situation:“Unless we change<strong>the</strong>se policies whichare now in effect, <strong>the</strong>policies established in1954 under <strong>the</strong> ArthurBurns change in <strong>the</strong>credit practices of <strong>the</strong>United States, we willgo into <strong>the</strong> 1960s, andby <strong>the</strong> middle of <strong>the</strong>www.arttoday.com1960s, we will enter aperiod of crises, of seriousinternational monetary crises. <strong>And</strong> ifit is not corrected <strong>the</strong>n, by <strong>the</strong> beginningof <strong>the</strong> 1970s, we shall experience abreakdown of <strong>the</strong> existing internationalmonetary system.” Each one of <strong>the</strong>seforecasts came on, was fulfilled in atimely fashion.In 1967, <strong>the</strong> British pound-sterlingwent belly-up, in October-November ofthat year. From January throughFebruary of 1968, <strong>the</strong> U.S. dollar went,not belly-up, but went into a severe crisis.In 1971-1972, <strong>the</strong> existing worldmonetary system of that time was shutdown.I have never made a mistake, in a long-range forecast.Every time I have forecast, it has happened precisely as Iforecast it: that unless certain changes were made, certainthings would happen. It has always happened.It is now happening.I warned earlier this year, of this crisis presently happening.It is now happening. During <strong>the</strong> past threemonths, <strong>the</strong> rate of acceleration of collapse on internationalmarkets, as well as in <strong>the</strong> U.S., has increased; <strong>the</strong>reis a combination of hyperinflation like that of Germany1923, and collapses in whole sections and whole chunksof financial markets. That process will continue. I haveestimated that, unless <strong>the</strong>re’s a change, <strong>the</strong> entire internationalfinancial system could collapse by approximatelySeptember of this year, or even earlier.It will happen. I don’t make mistakes in <strong>the</strong>se matters.<strong>And</strong> many people in <strong>the</strong> world now, reluctantly or o<strong>the</strong>rwise,agree with me, that I’ve been right on this, thatthat’s <strong>the</strong> situation.There is no hope for <strong>the</strong> United States, if <strong>the</strong> Congresswalks away from this session, and goes out and campaignsto a population that hates it increasingly, especiallyDemocrats, and <strong>the</strong>re’s not much hope that this nationwill not go into chaos.If Congress doesn’t fight <strong>Felix</strong><strong>Rohatyn</strong>’s dismantling of <strong>the</strong>U.S. economy, <strong>the</strong> UnitedStates will go <strong>the</strong> way ofancient A<strong>the</strong>ns, “which wasdrawn into <strong>the</strong> cult ofsophistry, which is <strong>the</strong>precedent for <strong>the</strong> sophistry thatoccupies most of <strong>the</strong> people in<strong>the</strong> United States today,”<strong>LaRouche</strong> said. Here (left) <strong>the</strong>Acropolis in A<strong>the</strong>ns depicted asit was in ancient times; below,<strong>LaRouche</strong> Youth Movementmembers organizing againstsophistry on Capitol Hill.3