Think about the headline question at a personal level and also how you think the average person might answer.
In answer to my lead question, I would expect a huge variety of opinions including but not limited to: Inflation, putting food on the table, rent, student loans, US debt, rising deficits, Social Security running out of money, broken political system, care of a sick or dying loved one, climate change, Trump, Biden, gas prices, crime, education, employment, unaffordable housing, saving for retirement, the UAW strike, auto repairs, home repairs, the cost of an auto, lack of saving, finding a job after college, credit card debt, and gasoline prices.
That’s over 20 legitimate concerns off the top of my head. Assistance to Ukraine as the #1 top priority is one thing that would not have crossed my mind until I saw this Tweet.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says “Providing assistance for the Ukrainians to defeat the Russians is the number one priority for the United States right now, according to most Republicans“.
Would assistance to Ukraine be your number one priority? Top 10? Top 20? On your list at all?
Q: Are politicians that seriously out of touch with what people’s concerns are?
A: Of course they are.
It’s not just McConnell, or Republicans, or Democrats. It’s the whole stinking collective lot of them.
They all make decisions based on their priorities, not yours, often based on which donors are giving them the most money for their election campaigns.
CBO Debt to GDP Estimates
Debt to GDP Alarm Bells Ring, Neither Party Will Solve This
On September 7, I commented Debt to GDP Alarm Bells Ring, Neither Party Will Solve This
US Debt held by the public is soaring out of sight. It’s even worse than it looks for reasons I explain.
Yet, despite deficit spending and the national debt being enormous problems, I wonder how they would rate in a national poll.
The last concern of those struggling to put food on the table, pay rent, take care of elderly parents, pay down credit card or student debt, or pay the bills in general, is sending $100 billion and counting to Ukraine.
No One Will Fix This
Compromise is always more spending for this in return for more spending on that.
Bnd both parties want to spend more on the military.
“Neither party will fix the deficits. Neither party will do anything about mounting debt. No one will do anything about anything because the political system is totally broken.” Mish
Immense denials of BS lies in action by paid top political stooges. How many American homeless will die this coming winter, who deserve nothing, so we can fund a proxy war slaughtering the flowering youth of Ukraine and the biggest war budget in the world by every metric.
All to try to drip bleed Russia who refuses to bow to our Imperialism.
If there is national karma when is it coming home God?
What government is actually the most evil in the world by waging war after war, coup after coup? We have slaughter millions since ww2. Was not King George as sane as our greed?
Last night 4 friends, all solid dems, came for dinner. I asked, should we continue supporting ukr? All said yes. I then asked, doesn’t it look like ukr can’t win? Responses seemed a bit jumbled.
It’s quite typical of dem leaders, too… dems in the house unanimously vote ever more money for ukr. Probably most reps do, too, though a vocal minority are against.
Imo more and more Americans want out as we approach 2024, which benefits trump.
Hey Mish, How can we make good choices when all we get is bad information. The Dept vs GDP uses the Debt Held by the public. And so did you. Try adding to the Debt Held by the Public to the $6.837Trillion Intragovernmental Holdings Debt* They then total the $33.126Trillion – The National Debt. Then look at things again. Then you will see that my biggest worry is that default and disaster is unavoidable. And maybe it should be yours too.
* The cash that the government loaned itself from the Social Security, Medicare, Highway and Airport construction, Trust Funds, etc.
No one here understands Ukraine..Ukraine is the line between territorial integrity or going back to a world where maps get redrawn because we give into being invaded. As goes Ukraine, so goes modern civilization. Russia and China will invade multiple countries if Ukraine’s sovereignty isn’t fought for. We should be trying to free the people of Russia and China.
The fact that The Ukraine had to resort to ethnic cleansing of all things Russian within its territory pretty much belies the claim that The Ukraine was a valid sovereign construct.
BTW, talk about territorial sovereignty is rich coming from anyone in a USA that was built in no small part on territory stolen from Mexico and various indigenous groups, like native Hawaiians.
Yeah, ‘bout that… I’d rather say our top interest is to convince the Klown of Keev to call it quits and save the remaining youth of Ukraine from unnecessary slaughter. He can retire to his Miami Mansion while a neutral Ukrain rebuilds.
With all the talk about the “major issues,” I find it distressing that no one has listed CBDC among. When (not if) this scam is in place, it will be “game over” for anyone who minds having every single purchase they make be monitored, tracked, and, far worse yet, manipulated to parallel the narrative of the world’s largest corporations (among which are Amazon, Meta/Facebook, all the big pharma and anyone else hoping not to miss out on the “Great Reset”) which the WEF and now, the WHO extoll.
Sorry folks, once CBDC rolls out (can you say Covid #2, more virulent form?), we will ALL be sheeple (kinda like 90+% of the world’s population)
You’re right, no one will fix this. Trump didn’t start any new wars and made good faith, common sense efforts to try and bring jobs back and make healthcare pricing more transparent, but the DC/Media/Corporate/Pharma juggernaut stymied him his entire 4 yrs with BS investigations based on lies and trumped up (pun unavoidable) charges. And they harassed and indicted those who were on his staff like Gen Flynn and Carter Page.
Then they indicted and sued him endlessly.
So tell me WHO THE HELL IS EVER GOING TO EVER CHALLENGE THE DC OLIGARCHY EVER AGAIN??? Who would ever agree to serve on the team of an outsider challenging the DC Oligarchy?
Seriously, tell me who?
Would you?
Hope to see a photo of Trump looking out from a locked jail cell in the near future.
Well, it isn’t front of mind right now, but when the banks who are supplying all the credit (which is actually what the US is supplying, as a lend-lease program), figure out that the war is either unwinable or going poorly, they’ll demand escalation. It happened in “The Great War,” and there’s no reason why it couldn’t happen again.
Wilson kept us out of the war, until he saw how much the country was on the hook for if the allies lost.
And of course think of the suppliers! All those jobs supplying the arsenal of freedom! You bet they’re extremely concerned about how well the war is going. Espeically if their products don’t perform. Bad enough that cheap consumer drones seem to be a massive force multiplier, what happens when the Patriots don’t work, or the F16s don’t make a difference because they’re too hard to maintain? Then what?
An affordable roof over my head is concern #1.
Nomad, reality trumps. Inflation is HUGELY (see John William’s ShadowStats.com for what I believe to be accurate/excellent data/advice) understated. Golly, who benefits from manipulated lower inflation numbers? Um, the U.S. Government (who seems hugely concentrated on padding their own pocketbooks – name HOW many politicians have exited office with a smaller account balance than when entering?), but who among our “elected leaders” has championed less government spending & a lower tax burden for the working lower & middle classes?
My number one priority is NOT providing assistance for the Ukrainians. Rather to provide assistance for the Americans to help solve the 20+ legitimate concerns that Mish outlined.
The NY fed sucked up $1.5 trillion in cash at 5.3% yesterday to take liquidity out of the market after it printed $3 trillion bc the virus….
Censorship SHOULD be on the list, Mish. The reality of our being Censored over Vaccinations, Mask Policies, being “anti-Establishment” (Against POWERED interests, stealing from us)….are many of my focuses right now.
I was also taken aback by how many Sheeple fell RIGHT LINE with the Covid Sham. I have a very close friend, and Fellow Student, a GERMAN who wrote a paper in MAY of 2020, Prior to the Great Barrington Declaration, and by that time Virologists were calling the ALREADY calling the Pandemic SUSPICIOUS.
We were In Portugal on 14 March 2020 and our local Aldi store, THE VERY NEXT DAY, had “distancing Stickers” stuck to the floors and we were lining up outside…that was VERY early for that coordinated Worldwide Sham.
Thus, I am VERY concerned that in general, people are STILL “Falling for” the Narratives and that VOTING actually counts for something – – it does NOT. VOTING is a fun day out only. THAT IS IT. PERIOD.
1) The Real Personal Income, excluding transfer money, was up 155B, rising at a turtle speed, from 15.56T in Oct 2021 to 15.7T, up 0.8% in two years.
2) The Real Disposable Income is down 3.66T from Mar 2021 to 16.76T.
Consumers lost 3.66T/20.48T = (-)18% of their Real Disposable Income. They are worried and angry, especially at the upper middle class and the rich who cannot stop spending money.
3) The stealthy raids stopped. The Fed wants your money by hiking to 5.5%. No PPP loans to forget, no money to Shingle mums, to keep the restaurants running, rent free, student loans deffered…no funfunfun, while millions died.
4) The System Control with a positive feedback loop is working in reverse.
You can always up the ante for a new number one concern (WW3 anyone?, nuclwar? High altitude EMP?). There were plenty of very serious concerns before inflation became obvious to the Stooge class. Many of those things even contribute to inflation.
My biggest concerns are the things that matter to me the most and that I can also have an impact on; my health, family, friends and wealth. . The only reason I visit this blog is for info that can help me build my wealth.
I rarely worry about the things that I cannot have an impact on; including govt, the fed, etc.
And the wealthier I become, the less I have to worry about.
I visit this blog because it helps me build friends.
Term limits are the only solution. We’ll all be better off with amateur morons than professional ones.
as long as israel, ukraine, raytheon, goldman sachs and big pharma are taken care of, i can sleep at night knowing pax dumbfuckistan is still the same place i woke up yesterday.
From my perspective the number one problem is lack of knowledge of the purpose of human life. The human being differs from animals only in the ability to inquire about who he is, why he’s here, what is the pupae of life, etc. Lacking these, a human being is less than an animal.
Externally, obviously the whole country, if not the whole world is totally screwed in every way. Idiots like Mitch McConnell amplify this.
In the end we all get the karmic reactions individually and collectively that we deserve. The Europeans and more recently the Americans have been the greatest exploiters and killers. The reaction comes whether they like it or not.
Living in Asia for forty years, I see the USA as most of the world sees it. One gigantic built trying by all means to intimidate and Durve its well on all. Here in Asia people are gleeful when they see the USA going down.
concur. contentment is number one. amerikans are forever in pursuit of things as fleeting as happiness and things………..the documentary “century of the self” is a must watch for all thinkers. they programmed amerikans a long long time ago. hat tip to lehman bros, madison ave, and freud’s nephew. a trite empire for sure.
There is no special purpose for humans in life. It just is.
Our births are just like any other animal, driven by the evolutionary imprinted innate drive to reproduce. This worked fine when the human population numbered in the millions. But not so much today with a population in the multiple billions and continuing to grow daily, regardless that large swatches of humanity are unable to adequately feed or raise their children.
Humans should be implanted with permanent contraceptives upon reaching puberty.
LOL, it better be an Americans #1 priority. If Russian can flex here, Americans might actually have to learn how to work again. They don’t know that all the time they spend on trans politics is given to them freely by borderline slave labor in other countries due to American projection of power around the world. Without that they would need to actually work and spend a bit less time on whether or not the person they are dating is wokefishing or not.
I guess Mish wants us to discuss the merits of Pacifism in international relations. Myself I don’t see too much merit in it and leave it at that.
A country $33T in debt with debt servicing now exceeding $1T per year would be wise to consider neutrality and peace.
Why not just invade a few countries and take their money to pay off our debts?
Mish left out something that should be of major concern. The medical industrial complex MIC.
20% of GDP to overpriced healthcare. Workers afraid of losing their job due to their need for employee health insurance. A trillion dollar and rising Medicare/ Medicaid deficit. Workers coerced to take an experimental jab. Medical debts the number 1 cause of bankruptcy. Failure to uphold the constitution to crack down on medical monopolies. Censorship of those not supporting Faucis lies etc etc.
Fix the MIC and you fix the budget and half the fears that Mish listed.
And legalise euthanasia to get rid of Mitch, Biden, Fauci, Pelosi and the others that are driving the US off a cliff.
You can’t use MIC for “Medical Industrial Complex”. That acronym is already apportioned to the “MILITARY Industrial Complex”, which is much more dangerous.
Well, for GOPers
link to ritholtz.com
Mish,
It’s an absolute joke that you don’t include illegal immigration in your top 20 list. That’s embarrassing. In fact, you just need to shut down MishTalk and stick with your day job traveling the world.
You’re utterly clueless to not include this in a top 5-10 list.
Stop avoiding this very important issue, especially since it has both social & economic consequences for the US.
My biggest concern is the partisanship and culture wars that is happening in our country. None of the other problems will be solved until we have some type of compromise in governing the nation. Right now it appears that politicians are too easily manipulated by those with money. The ultimate goal of these manipulators is unclear to me because if either side wins a complete victory then it will actually lead the nation to further ruin since their will be no balance.
As I read the headline of this post, I looked away to think about rmy answer. I did not pontificate on what the masses might say. PEACE and PROSPERITY is what came to mind. Yes, the political class is way out of touch.
“Think about the headline question at a personal level and also how you think the average person might answer”
Well that’s an easy one, a “no brainer” if you will.
INCOME
And how my income hasn’t grown in 30 years and how I don’t know a person, not a single one, that can afford to buy the house they live in on their current incomes.
1) Allen Dulles and general Gehlen, a Nazi, built a bridgehead in the middle of the
Soviet empire. The Bandera’s, who killed Jews and Poles, also killed 60K
Soviet troops. They were more effective than ISIS. Their special op was shalted
by Clinton in the 90’s. Putin hates these Nazi thugs. Jewish senators love them.
2) Stalin built a bridgehead in Palestine, in the middle of the British empire. After
kicking the British out, Stalin turned his back on Israel.
3) There are more Nazis in CA and in SF than in Canada.
Illegal immigration is probably the number 1 problem, because another few more years of allowing millions of military age men to walk into the country and there will be real problems. All they need is to be organized and they will be able to do whatever they want, including a military takeover. They will be able to steal what weapons they need.
And we’ll all be speaking Spanish then.
The Pentagon wastes trillions of money in preposterous projects, like Zumwalt destroyers. With the money of one ship, the ucranians have cannons and ammunition for one hundred years. The war in Ucrania is peanuts for DOD budget.
Yes, Ukraine is the top concern. Which is why we need to pass the budget bill to shovel another $24 billion into the black hole of grift and corruption.
Second concern is “preserving freedom and democracy” by preventing certain candidates (Trump and RFK Jr. come to mind) from obtaining office.
Virtually everyone and every country on Planet Earth is corrupt in one way or other.
How about sharing some of the ways you’ve cheated others in this life?
Ukraine is rated one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Number 18.
As regards foreign policy priorities, helping Ukraine beat back Russia’s naked aggression would be in my top 3. Why is that so controversial in the US? Because most Americans have no clue about European geography and history.
On public debt and deficits, I could not have imagined to see the US start running structural deficits that are way above what we see in EU countries. I would blame the populism that has gripped both parties but also an archaic fiscal process (which allows a gifted clown like Matt Gaetz to shape US fiscal policy).
Well it is controversial because it’s not coming out of your pocket. Also just saying that like Fauci stating that he is “science”, are you claiming to be “history”? My top priority is to reduce governments and the debt.
It wasn’t Putin who overthrew Yanukovich.
Russia’s naked aggression???
What Rick did you crawl out from under, or are you just another Useful Idiot.
How about James Baker statement regarding NATO encroachment past the Elbe River? How about the Maidon CIA Coup? How about the Minsk Agreement? How about the killing of appx. 18,000 Ethnic Russian Ukrainians in East Ukraine and finally how about all my investments in Gasprom, Lukoil & Polymetal 😜
Including you. You have no clue of the Ukrainian war history. Read David Stockman s article titled PEARL HARBOR MY EYE.
Nobody will and nobody can address the debt timebomb. Only way to address it is complete deValuation of the dollar (likely lose reserve currency status … and don’t increase entitlements or raise tax brackets … so in addition to everything else, you’re cutting entitlements massively and increasing taxes massively as you destroy everyone’s nest egg) … or just raise taxes a lot and cut entitlements a lot. With that as your candidacy platform … you get 0 votes. The good news is, you would not be embarrassed in this situation as neither party would let you run … so you actually wouldn’t have that humiliating defeat on your record.
Our increasing addiction to debt is serious; our inability to pay it of in good times is a lot more serious. This said, comparing GDP to Debt is inaccurate. When an individual applies for a mortgage to buy a home, banks are more interested in their ability to pay for it rather than how much they owe. The same should be the case with our national finances. Today we have the ability to pay, but is is decreasing at an alarming pace. What we must do is to stop the growth of debt and state paying of, particularly in good times.
Wrong. Gov’t will always be able to pay the debt interest. They can print the money. The problem is that they destroy the dollar when doing that. So, your money will not buy as much. That is why houses and cars cost so much. Money printing.
But gov’t can always create money to pay the debt interest.
McConnell : ““Providing assistance for the Ukrainians to defeat the Russians is the number one priority for the United States…”
And still the DONORcrats call him “Moscow Mitch”??!!
Sheesh! Just shows how insanely rabid those DONORcrats are.
How in the world would I ever survive without all the parasites in Washington D.C. and the surrounding counties?
Sadly, for many that’s absolutely true. Once you’re locked into the SSA & Medicare Schemes, they pretty much have you by the shorthairs: not to mention the all the State Programs.
I think this thing has to just collapse, ironically, like something akin to the USSR, or the Roman Empires’ demise because nobody is going to voluntarily forfeit their SSA or Medicare at this point. And the Deep State & MIC certainly isn’t going to relinquish there hold on the apparatus of state: not going to happen IMHO.
Those that the Americans fought in Europe were mainly defeated by the Red Army, and the descendants of these vanquished people are now the allies of the West, and are celebrated, as we have just seen recently in Canada.
Hitler and Stalin invaded Poland together as allies then Hitler invaded Western Europe and conquered it but tried for a year to break the British but couldn’t do it so in frustration he invaded his ally the USSR. To Hitler’s chagrin the UK started sending equipment and food to Stalin and the US followed. Hitler ended up fighting counties with 5 times Germany’s war-making capability and 4 times its population but he thought like the Japanese that the German soldier’s spirit would make up for it but it didn’t. Reminds me of something similar.
Factually wrong on each point.
Britain has been net commodity importer since 1770.
Hitler ‘s mind is beyond touch.
It’s definitely in my top 3. Stopping expansionist dictatorships early is a good policy so that, say, my kids don’t get drafted in a decade to go fight in Europe.
But Mish is certainly right that it’s not a huge concern for most people.
We’re the “expansionist dictatorship” here & if you had any real knowledge of the history of Russia and the ‘country’ of Ukraine you might be better informed.
I actually believe Glitch McConnell is correct somewhat in that this topic SHOULD be Americans top concern because these lunatics are about to get us boots on the ground in this shit show followed by a nuclear exchange and Americans and their European Lapdogs remain blissfully unaware.
The most important priority for Mitch and other Congresspeople is doing the bidding for their corporate sponsors. Probably the most important thing for Americans, if they can stop watching Netflix , is getting their government back and working for the betterment of the taxpayer.
The country has gone over the falls sadly. It’s over
I too am despondent over the prospect that we can turn this thing around, but stranger things have happened.
We have to try and inform our fellow Citizens, even at our own peril.
You’d think that maybe somewhere in that crowd of 7 million new illegals there would be someone who know how to fix this mess. If not, why do we keep allowing the invasion?
Sort of odd that anyone would think that anyone other than the USA is the “expansionist dictators”. The USSA has weaponized the dollar and goes around the world threatening “sanctions” if one doesn’t do the bidding of the USSA.
And countries are starting to wise up to this fact and are getting tired of it.
AND if your country is about to put missiles 3 minutes from another countries capital one would need to be a fool to think that said country isn’t going to do something about that ESPEICALLY when they have been warning you about it for 2 decades.
Don’t do as we do, do as we say has worn thin.
1776 really?? I would believe 1613, 1762 or 1917 but never 1776.
I think 1776 was a fairly seminal year for the American Experience, no?
It’s cultural appropriation comrade.
Who has caused more death, destruction and misery throughout the world? Pretty sure it’s the USA. Most recently Iraq and Afghanistan. Pretty sure the citizens over there hate us for the destruction of their countries. You are a good sheep. Listen to your dear leaders
How do you destroy a shithole?
I went to Vietnam at an early age. Where did that get us? Or me?
I would surmise the top priority for every American can be surmised as ‘a better quality of life’ but that manifests itself into many different things for many. For some, it’s converting everyone else into their fake religion, for others it’s about the environment and yet others it’s about security from invasion and that too can included a rogue Russian intent on controlling the world. But I would have to agree that the last thing I think about on any given day is Ukraine-Russia conflict and I also agree that politicians aren’t going to fix anything.
With all the smartphones floating around I am a bit shocked that no one has developed an app that can perform flash mob congressional feedback to let politicians know how angry/disappointed they are about their current actions. Polling has never improved and if something is broken then let’s start buy building tech that can help fix it. Until then EVERYONE is or will be on their own to resolve their own problems and the one thing that helps take care of most things is more money. And that’s why I focus on profits and not politicians.
Ugh spell check didn’t catch some misspellings, Mish when are we getting an edit feature? That’s one thing I do think about daily…
I can edit – So it’s possible. Will ask.
On the blog-wish-list I’d add:
1) The ability to get email notices of replies to my comments, but not other comments.
2) A way to see who thumbed my comments.
Those were features of the previous system that I miss.
And bring back the ignore option.
Very thought out except for the “fake religion” part. I could show how unscientific natural process is … but as a thinking person … you are a sheep on that one.
The mere fact so many religions exist with many different fairy tale books is a dead give away it’s all fake. If you got triggered by those words it’s indicative of who the real sheep is now isn’t it?
My enlightenment is not from reading any or all those books, but from realizing how similar those books and those cultures’ architectures of antiquity are.
And the only thing that makes them actually in common in that the human condition literally requires narration of what our senses perceive. Read, “Thinking Fast and Slow”, if you don’t walk away from that book absolutely knowing that religion I’d 100% human narrative, you are the sheep.
We shouldn’t call the religious “sheep” though. The reason they exist is because they have been the most vicious of killers in the past.
Yes, they all insist on strict obedience of their platform and the destruction of all others. Sound familiar in terms of politics? davebarnes below provided a link to a survey on what is important to repubs. Sounds a lot like adherence to a platform. So much for the “freedom” party.
as traditional religion declines in america it is being replaced by a new religion of politics and it’s deja vu all over again.
There are many gamers running the simulation we are in and each one is a different god which explains all the different religions with their respective gods. They also have different ways of punishing nonbelievers in the simulation all of which are quite unpleasant.
“Wind-Up”
When I was young
And they packed me off to school
And they taught me how not to play the game
I didn’t mind
If they groomed me for success
Or if they said that I was just a fool
So, I left there in the morning
With their God tucked underneath my arm
Their half-assed smiles and the book of rules
And I asked this God a question
And by way of firm reply
He said, “I’m not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays.”
…
link to azlyrics.com
You realize that, if you believe we are in a simulation … that you believe in one or more transcendant beings that have created everything in our universe (be it physical or virtual). At least that means you’re smart enough to know that natural process could never have created everything in the universe.
in my kingdom, I alone am GOD. some know me as RA. look up in sky and you shall see my heavenly father, the SUN. i would have all non believers be retroactively be aborted in their mother’s womb.
I am Zeus and I order my followers to worship me, my brothers and sisters and sometimes my offspring. When you die you all go to the same place which is really dreary and probably resembles what you had when you were alive anyway.
So I guess you believe that:
Everything came from nothing
It then collapsed down to a singularity that could fit on the head of a pin … spun very fast, and then blew up in the universe’s most powerful and perfect explosion creating an ordered slowly growing universe
In a small planet orbiting the perfect distance around the perfect sized star … and with 2 large siblings (Jupiter and Saturn) to play pin cushions for space debris .. life magically started (if you’ve seen DNA and believe it could happen naturally … I’ve got a bridge in NY I think you should invest in)
I could go on … but it’s all so anti-science and generally absurd … that I don’t have nearly the faith you do.
the number 1 item should always be
STOPPING the devaluation of fiat $dollar
ie keeping VALUE
—
of course we all know spendthrift CONgress has no intention of doing so
why I believe all govt debt should be declared null and void(GREAT RESET) since they have NO INTENTION of repaying it
What do you suggest be done about all the people that would become insolvent and bankrupt if “all govt debt should be declared null and void.”
???
I don’t think he’s worried about that, but he’s still got a point.
I’ve been saying for about 2-3 years that I think the inflection point comes somewhere between $35-40T in national debt.
Q2 annualized interest rate expense was $970B. With the UniParty adding nearly $1.3T in debt in one quarter, $7T in debt rolling over in the next 12 months, probably another $1.5T in debt over FY 2024 , & higher for longer, one has to wonder how high this metric will go be the 2024 election. And, who will pay attention?
There will come a time (unpredictable) when it will be impossible for the government (federal) to collect enough in taxes to pay all of its expenses, including interest on the national debt. The Gov’t can of course borrow an indefinite amount through the Fed. (concealed green backing) given a few changes in existing law. But that would lead to hyper inflation – i.e., a collapse in the credit of the Gov’t.
So the easy way, is the way the French did it in 1960. Simply say that beginning Jan 1 (or any other date), new dollars will be issued, and that each new dollar is worth 100 old dollars. Then follow that up with a largely state controlled economy.
In 1960, the French economist / mathematician Jacques Rueff, during Charles de Gaulle’s presidency, converted the old franc, to a nouveau franc, equal to 100 of the old franc. However, even with this substitution, inflation continued to erode the currency’s value, though at lower rates of change, in comparison to other countries. And this new franc equaled 20 cents to a U.S. dollar. The old rate was 5.00 to a dollar.
In 1960, the French franc, which was one of the weakest currencies, overnight, became one of the strongest. Correcting policies included plans to 1) balance the budget, 2) stabilize the currency, and 3) eliminate currency controls.
The gold content of the franc increased 100%, & 1) foreign exchange rates, and 2) France’s internal prices, reflected the conversion overnight. Internally, prices dropped about 90 per cent, and the foreign exchange value rose from about 0.238 cents per franc, to about 20.389 cents per franc.
Domestically, France was on a managed paper standard; externally, on a modified gold bullion standard. With the new policies, France’s economy strengthened, and the franc became fully convertible @ approximately its gold par, into gold for foreign exchange and into foreign currencies.
With the introduction of the Euro, the franc in Jan. 1, 1999, was worth less than 1/8 of its Jan. 1, 1960 value.
The Federal government already borrows about a quarter of what it spends each year – it cannot raise enough in taxes
They will own nothing and be happy.
If it weren’t for that ‘happiness’ guarantee I suspect most wouln’t be on board with that plan.
The debt is too great to be repaid just like that. Also, nearly every other country also has massive debt. The world is bankrupt. Why did you not know this?
Bottom line, we know the media is perfectly willing to gaslight to protect progresssive causes … total devaluation of the dollar allows them to give some awesome statistics that make things look awesome while the sky falls:
1. Worker wages up
2. Debt down as a % of GDP
3. Exports up and imports down
…
Ah, the fake religion of profit.
I, a Ferengi, take offense at your remark.
There is nothing fake about profits. It’s the only real thing out there that can be converted to real goods and real services.
Materialism is an ugly suit!
Who said anything about materialism? Goods and services are needed for everyday living. It’s curious that you quickly equated profits with materialism because I take my profits and re-invest to make more profits minus the stuff that I need to sustain myself.
You never heard of the term, “Cooking The Books”? If you are speaking of paper profits, you may have a problem. If it’s positive cash flow, you may have a point.
Too many people focusing on profits is exactly why we are in the situation we are in. Greed has no end game but we know in the scientific and math world greed always fails spectacularly.
What we need is an app that informs everyone that we need a third party. The Uniparty will not fix any problems related to the average person.
Lobbying controls all the legislators. Nothing gets fixed until lobbying is illegal.
It will take a pretty large disruptive group to end lobbying. I think that means a third party.