Only a few years ago, Rosenberg said he would make jokes about the Fed buying junk bonds to prop up markets. Now it looks like the joke was on him. "[Fed chairman] Powell is as much of a backstopper and market manipulator as Greenspan and Bernanke," he noted.

The massive amount of government spending are not FDR-style fiscal stimulus projects that gave America the Golden Gate Bridge, the Hoover Dam or the Lincoln Tunnel. Instead, Rosenberg called the PPP and the other latest bailout creations nothing but a bridge to financial life support for tens of millions.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) surveys, about 75% of the newly jobless expect their job losses to be temporary. Rosenberg called that "wishful thinking." But even if they are right, and let's hope they are, that still leaves as many as 9 million people who have seen their jobs permanently eliminated. All this comes at the start of a decade when many futurists feared the advent of exponential technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics would displace tens of millions of jobs.

The saddest aspect of the whole fiasco is that the winners are people in technology and health care, who were just doing fine. Most of the people who find themselves suddenly unemployed through no fault of their own worked in low-wage jobs like retailing and hospitality and can't afford extended unemployment.

But the carnage is widespread. Rosenberg noted that state and municipal government accounts for $2 trillion in GDP and 1 million workers in this sector are now unemployed. Professionals and others in dentistry account for more than 900,000 jobs and more than half are temporarily sidelined.

Much of America is reopening for business this week. Does Wall Street really believe any material number of Americans are going to go out and spend like they were three months ago?

Rosenberg ridiculed that as a delusional notion. He cited numerous surveys finding that 85% of Americans wouldn't get on an airplane. Another survey found only 22% saying they would go to a bar or restaurant. Only 56% say they feel comfortable going to a supermarket. That's "good for the delivery business, but not much else," he observed.

Another survey found that 59% of Americans plan to remain on lockdown until the virus is contained. As for restaurants, who "wants to wear a mask while they chew their food," he quipped. The financial dynamics for restaurant owners forced to operate at 50% capacity simply don't translate into profitability. Other small business owners worry they could become victims to a pandemic of lawsuits.

Then there is the political climate and the question of who is going to pay for this explosively expensive crisis. "It is crystal clear to me it will be capital, not labor," that is expected to pay the freight. Ordinary people probably will be totally tapped out when the bill comes due so that the only alternative will be to tax the wealthy and corporations.

There is going to be a rising tide of nationalism, isolationism, anti-globalization and, in all likelihood, socialism when the world starts to get back on its feet, Rosenberg suggested. Given this environment, he believes gold should turn out to be a safe haven.