I am still wondering how this will all end and if the pain of going through a severe economic downturn can be avoided.

This all started back in 1913 with the creation of the U.S. Federal Reserve. The government thought that the up and downs of economic expansion and contraction could be controlled by a central bank. The nail was put into the coffin when the U.S. went off the gold standard resulting in no limit to amount of money printing.
Now we have central banks printing as much as possible while telling consumers that inflation is under control. Few in the public realize that the method of calculating inflation has been changing over time. Thus hiding the true inflation rate.

One thing is certain to me, the charade can go on for a very long time but eventually it will end. As Greg Hunter says "the pretending will be ending".

In my opinion this is driving the world's monetary system toward a digital currency.

Have a great weekend!
Steem on,
Mike