lewrockwell--2020-04-25--Your Intrepid Reporter Hits the Hotspot

Your Intrepid Reporter Hits the Hotspot

Ah , New York City !
That most communist of dystopias , with more politicians and bureaucrats—and four-legged rats , too—per square inch than anywhere else in the universe , closets that the denizens mistake for apartments , thoroughfares ankle-deep in trash , neurotics galore , traffic jams 24/7 , and a profound ignorance of and contempt for places more civilized .
Relieving the sordidness and misery are world-class restaurants—oh , wait : Our Rulers closed them .
Well , how about an afternoon at Manhattan ’ s renowned museums ?
Nope , government shut them , too , though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their upkeep .
( Nor does the normal rate of plunder satisfy ; as the Met confesses , “ We ’ re joining the American Alliance of Museums to ask Congress to add $ 4B ” –as in billion— ” in relief funding to museums and cultural nonprofits.
” I suppose all the newly unemployed taxpayers can eat cake and ice cream . )
Indeed , New York ’ s despots have obliterated everything that compensated somewhat for the Big Apple ’ s extortionate prices , rude natives , and intemperate weather .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ languishes in unrelieved squalor .
Atlas Shrugged [ ATLAS S ... AynRand Best Price : $ 5.88 Buy New $ 20.10 We fled the Coronavirus Capital a month ago , when New York ’ s tyrants threatened their subjects with quarantine .
Isolating Manhattan Island is so easy that even the incompetent political class could pull it off : simply barricade all bridges and tunnels to the mainland .
That ’ d turn the borough into a gigantic prison—and believe me , it ’ s unbearable enough when you know you can leave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything—vaccination , hefty fees , shredding the Constitution—as the price of release .
But a month ’ s absence from our apartment , with its antiquated plumbing and houseplants , worried us .
Besides , the best time to travel is when Our Rulers order us not to !
So we rented a car and headed into traffic that seemed a bit lighter than normal .
I celebrated every vehicle as a finger in the eye of the State .
My musings distracted me from the electronic signs blinking propaganda at us : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Hey , if staying home will stop the plague of government , I ’ ll do it .
Otherwise , leave me alone .
For reasons I can not fathom , Pennsylvania has closed its rest areas ( but not its toll plazas ; got ta love the State ! )
.
During our flight four weeks ago , all of them were blocked ; I wondered then how forcing travelers to queue at gas stations fights contagion , but who am I to question Our Rulers ?
This time , some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ porta-potties .
All that odoriferous , germy plastic oughta conquer COVID-19 , yessirree .
Like Pennsylvania , New York has cut its “ services , ” but its highway robbery continues apace .
After coughing up $ 16 at the George Washington Bridge—no , we weren ’ t buying it ; that ’ s what these thieves charge to cross it—we arrived in Manhattan .
Atlas Snubbed Krawchuk , Ken V. Buy New $ 19.99 From the bridge to our apartment , I don ’ t think we slammed on the brakes even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hour .
Thank you , Rulers !
The silver lining to your destruction of civilization is that you ’ ve finally fixed the congestion clogging your roads .
Somehow , I expected you to have kept the jams while eradicating the jobs causing them .
The sidewalks , as empty as the streets , are filled with fear .
But the litter that blankets all asphalt and concrete is gone .
So are the cops , speaking of trash .
New York City tortures drivers with “ alternate side of the street parking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parked cars from one side of the road every other day .
Theoretically at least , street-cleaning machines then rumble along the cleared curb .
But Our Rulers , in an eerie show of mercy , suspended “ Alternate side ” lo , these many weeks ago .
Ergo , I assumed we ’ d wade through knee-high debris .
Nope : the streets are nigh immaculate .
That ’ s no doubt due to Marxist New Yorkers ’ blindly obeying Leviathan ’ s commands , in this case to cower inside .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ uselessness of the Sanitation Department ’ s make-work—or perhaps its harm : does “ street-cleaning ” exacerbate the very problem it addresses , as do government ’ s other policies ?
If you love New York ’ s bustle , you ’ d grieve at the ghost town it ’ s become .
Restaurants are closed—myriads permanently , I fear , including my favorite Chinese one .
Others gamely offer take-out , so we snagged a pizza .
What a work of art is New York ’ s pizza , oh , yum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it next ( “ Pizza may help spread COVID-19 , a new study from the CDC shows .
Mayor DiBlasio will sign legislation next week protecting New Yorkers… ” ) As we munched , brainwashing bombarded us .
We listen to classical music on the radio ; the station , allegedly a “ public , ” non-commercial one , nonetheless advertises concerts and similar events .
But Our Rulers killed such pastimes and their ads , so only propaganda now echoes between sonatas and symphonies : “ Wash your hands , stay home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distancing.
” American Contempt for ... Williams , Walter E. Best Price : $ 14.29 Buy New $ 11.75 On the streets , the indoctrination intensifies .
“ Free ” wifi kiosks that are really just hi-tech billboards ( smartphones had already rendered them obsolete when they were installed five or six years ago ) clutter Manhattan .
And their ads nag as monolithically as the radio ’ s did : “ Stay home even if you are healthy ” ; “ Cover your cough or sneeze ” ; etc.
, ad nauseam @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should most vigorously fight Leviathan ’ s nonsense—the businessmen the lockdown is bankrupting—are drunk on Koronavirus Kool-Aid , so far as I can tell .
If a store is “ essential ” and therefore open ( Bloomingdale ’ s is not , shockingly enough ) , it plasters signs on its doors ordering customers to wear masks , to social distance , to cringe in fear… OK , I made up that last .
But how infuriating that entrepreneurs are bossing rather than catering to their clientele !
This went personal when I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Manhattan .
I ’ ve visited this little emporium many times and was pleased to see no directives about masks on its door .
Back in the day , I ’ d enjoyed browsing its shelves .
Now the proprietor has roped them off : only a 3-foot-square space immediately inside the front door is still available to purchasers .
Not much of a welcome , if you ask me .
And one woman already occupied this tiny area !
No matter : I crowded in behind her .
With a sheer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the clerk looked as though he ’ d forgotten the rest of his haz-mat suit , .
Later , as I hiked the City , I ’ d spot more such get-ups , but this was my first .
I tried not to laugh as I asked for my item ; he fetched it , took my money , and then announced , “ Next time you come , wear a mask , or I won ’ t let you in.
” Few things irk me as much as vendors mistaking customers for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Oh , don ’ t worry , there won ’ t be a next time .
Besides , masks are ridiculous—this is a cold , after all , not bubonic— ” Well .
Along with our freedom to worship , that of dissent has disappeared , too .
The guy ’ s face purpled .
“ Whadda you know ?
” he roared .
“ I was sick wid dis crap !
” America ’ s Great ... Best Price : $ 14.73 Buy New $ 14.73 I actually stood there trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my senses .
That , and I feared he might throw me out bodily .
I emerged onto the sidewalk to see four people standing there , each bent over a phone , all precisely 6 feet apart .
A line !
Merely to enter the 3-foot square !
And here I ’ d barged inside upon arrival .
I have a lot to learn about our cowardly new world .
Lines have always cursed New York .
Prior to Our Rulers ’ plandemic , certain restaurants , bars , and events featured @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ve always avoided these places .
I ’ d rather chow down on chow fon immediately than wait two hours at Maison Chi-Chi , all so I can fork over $ 95 for three—count ‘ em , three—pieces of roasted potato and a single scallop .
Likewise , give me a DVD and a bowl of popcorn on my comfy couch instead of a wait in the snow or summer ’ s broiling heat before a jammed theater , where the only remaining seats are behind the Harlem Globetrotters .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tighter than Al Gore ’ s wallet , the lines have moved to drug stores and supermarkets .
Outside most , a file of sheeple , bent over their phones at six-foot intervals , straggles down the block .
There ’ s no admittance without a mask , so those wishing to eat mimic the flock .
Lost in thought , I crossed deserted intersection after deserted intersection without even looking for traffic .
Midway through one , I glanced up to behold a car speeding directly at me .
“ Oh , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t let me die of coronavirus !
” I didn ’ t , any more than New York did .
It required a contagion far more virulent than COVID-19 to decimate Manhattan : politicians and bureaucrats .
Their economic embargo is an act of war , a weapon governments usually employ against foreign enemies but now aim at their own serfs .
The Best of Becky Akers

Ah, New York City! That most communist of dystopias, with more politicians and bureaucrats—and four-legged rats, too—per square inch than anywhere else in the universe, closets that the denizens mistake for apartments, thoroughfares ankle-deep in trash, neurotics galore, traffic jams 24/7, and a profound ignorance of and contempt for places more civilized.
Relieving the sordidness and misery are world-class restaurants—oh, wait: Our Rulers closed them. Well, how about an afternoon at Manhattan’s renowned museums? Nope, government shut them, too, though they’re still fleecing us for their upkeep. (Nor does the normal rate of plunder satisfy; as the Met confesses, “We’re joining the American Alliance of Museums to ask Congress to add $4B”–as in billion—”in relief funding to museums and cultural nonprofits.” I suppose all the newly unemployed taxpayers can eat cake and ice cream.)
Indeed, New York’s despots have obliterated everything that compensated somewhat for the Big Apple’s extortionate prices, rude natives, and intemperate weather. Thanks to politicians and bureaucrats, Gotham languishes in unrelieved squalor. Atlas Shrugged[ATLAS S... AynRand Best Price: $5.88 Buy New $20.10 (as of 03:15 UTC - Details)
We fled the Coronavirus Capital a month ago, when New York’s tyrants threatened their subjects with quarantine. Isolating Manhattan Island is so easy that even the incompetent political class could pull it off: simply barricade all bridges and tunnels to the mainland. That’d turn the borough into a gigantic prison—and believe me, it’s unbearable enough when you know you can leave. Worse, the despots could demand anything—vaccination, hefty fees, shredding the Constitution—as the price of release.
But a month’s absence from our apartment, with its antiquated plumbing and houseplants, worried us. Besides, the best time to travel is when Our Rulers order us not to!
So we rented a car and headed into traffic that seemed a bit lighter than normal. I celebrated every vehicle as a finger in the eye of the State. My musings distracted me from the electronic signs blinking propaganda at us: “STAY HOME. STOP COVID 19.” Hey, if staying home will stop the plague of government, I’ll do it. Otherwise, leave me alone.
For reasons I cannot fathom, Pennsylvania has closed its rest areas (but not its toll plazas; gotta love the State!). During our flight four weeks ago, all of them were blocked; I wondered then how forcing travelers to queue at gas stations fights contagion, but who am I to question Our Rulers? This time, some were open—a few with an array of porta-potties. All that odoriferous, germy plastic oughta conquer COVID-19, yessirree.
Like Pennsylvania, New York has cut its “services,” but its highway robbery continues apace. After coughing up $16 at the George Washington Bridge—no, we weren’t buying it; that’s what these thieves charge to cross it—we arrived in Manhattan.
Atlas Snubbed Krawchuk, Ken V. Buy New $19.99 (as of 03:03 UTC - Details) From the bridge to our apartment, I don’t think we slammed on the brakes even once. No traffic. At rush hour. Thank you, Rulers! The silver lining to your destruction of civilization is that you’ve finally fixed the congestion clogging your roads. Somehow, I expected you to have kept the jams while eradicating the jobs causing them.
The sidewalks, as empty as the streets, are filled with fear. But the litter that blankets all asphalt and concrete is gone. So are the cops, speaking of trash.
New York City tortures drivers with “alternate side of the street parking,” forcing them to move their parked cars from one side of the road every other day. Theoretically at least, street-cleaning machines then rumble along the cleared curb. But Our Rulers, in an eerie show of mercy, suspended “Alternate side” lo, these many weeks ago. Ergo, I assumed we’d wade through knee-high debris. Nope: the streets are nigh immaculate. That’s no doubt due to Marxist New Yorkers’ blindly obeying Leviathan’s commands, in this case to cower inside. But those bare byways also prove the uselessness of the Sanitation Department’s make-work—or perhaps its harm: does “street-cleaning” exacerbate the very problem it addresses, as do government’s other policies?
If you love New York’s bustle, you’d grieve at the ghost town it’s become. Restaurants are closed—myriads permanently, I fear, including my favorite Chinese one. Others gamely offer take-out, so we snagged a pizza. What a work of art is New York’s pizza, oh, yum! Look for Our Rulers to ban it next (“Pizza may help spread COVID-19, a new study from the CDC shows. Mayor DiBlasio will sign legislation next week protecting New Yorkers…”)
As we munched, brainwashing bombarded us. We listen to classical music on the radio; the station, allegedly a “public,” non-commercial one, nonetheless advertises concerts and similar events. But Our Rulers killed such pastimes and their ads, so only propaganda now echoes between sonatas and symphonies: “Wash your hands, stay home, wear a mask, practice social distancing.”
American Contempt for ... Williams, Walter E. Best Price: $14.29 Buy New $11.75 (as of 02:30 UTC - Details) On the streets, the indoctrination intensifies. “Free” wifi kiosks that are really just hi-tech billboards (smartphones had already rendered them obsolete when they were installed five or six years ago) clutter Manhattan. And their ads nag as monolithically as the radio’s did: “Stay home even if you are healthy”; “Cover your cough or sneeze”; etc., ad nauseam.
Dismayingly, the very people who should most vigorously fight Leviathan’s nonsense—the businessmen the lockdown is bankrupting—are drunk on Koronavirus Kool-Aid, so far as I can tell. If a store is “essential” and therefore open (Bloomingdale’s is not, shockingly enough), it plasters signs on its doors ordering customers to wear masks, to social distance, to cringe in fear… OK, I made up that last. But how infuriating that entrepreneurs are bossing rather than catering to their clientele!
This went personal when I patronized one of the holes-in-the-wall that dot Manhattan. I’ve visited this little emporium many times and was pleased to see no directives about masks on its door. Back in the day, I’d enjoyed browsing its shelves. Now the proprietor has roped them off: only a 3-foot-square space immediately inside the front door is still available to purchasers. Not much of a welcome, if you ask me. And one woman already occupied this tiny area! No matter: I crowded in behind her.
With a sheer, plastic shield covering his masked face, the clerk looked as though he’d forgotten the rest of his haz-mat suit,. Later, as I hiked the City, I’d spot more such get-ups, but this was my first.
I tried not to laugh as I asked for my item; he fetched it, took my money, and then announced, “Next time you come, wear a mask, or I won’t let you in.”
Few things irk me as much as vendors mistaking customers for vassals. And so I retorted, “Oh, don’t worry, there won’t be a next time. Besides, masks are ridiculous—this is a cold, after all, not bubonic—”
Well. Along with our freedom to worship, that of dissent has disappeared, too. The guy’s face purpled. “Whadda you know?” he roared. “I was sick wid dis crap!” America’s Great ... Best Price: $14.73 Buy New $14.73 (as of 08:09 UTC - Details)
I actually stood there trying to reason with him before coming to my senses. That, and I feared he might throw me out bodily.
I emerged onto the sidewalk to see four people standing there, each bent over a phone, all precisely 6 feet apart. A line! Merely to enter the 3-foot square! And here I’d barged inside upon arrival. I have a lot to learn about our cowardly new world.
Lines have always cursed New York. Prior to Our Rulers’ plandemic, certain restaurants, bars, and events featured a perennial column of trend-setters outside. I’ve always avoided these places. I’d rather chow down on chow fon immediately than wait two hours at Maison Chi-Chi, all so I can fork over $95 for three—count ‘em, three—pieces of roasted potato and a single scallop. Likewise, give me a DVD and a bowl of popcorn on my comfy couch instead of a wait in the snow or summer’s broiling heat before a jammed theater, where the only remaining seats are behind the Harlem Globetrotters.
But now, with restaurants and theaters shut tighter than Al Gore’s wallet, the lines have moved to drug stores and supermarkets. Outside most, a file of sheeple, bent over their phones at six-foot intervals, straggles down the block. There’s no admittance without a mask, so those wishing to eat mimic the flock.
Lost in thought, I crossed deserted intersection after deserted intersection without even looking for traffic. Midway through one, I glanced up to behold a car speeding directly at me. “Oh, Lord,” I cried, “don’t let me die of coronavirus!”
I didn’t, any more than New York did. It required a contagion far more virulent than COVID-19 to decimate Manhattan: politicians and bureaucrats. Their economic embargo is an act of war, a weapon governments usually employ against foreign enemies but now aim at their own serfs.
Time to return fire.
The Best of Becky Akers


lewrockwell--2020-04-25--Trump: Live by the Oil, Die by the Oil

Trump: Live by the Oil, Die by the Oil

From the very beginning I ’ ve been a staunch critic of President Trump ’ s “ Energy Dominance ” policy .
And I was so for a myriad of reasons , but mostly because it was stupid .
And I don ’ t say this as someone who hates Trump without reservation .
In fact , I continue to hope he will wake up one day and stop being the Donald Trump I know and be the Donald Trump he needs to be .
I don ’ t have Trump Derangement Syndrome of any sort .
Neither MAGApede nor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or NPC Soy Boy , I see Trump for what he is – a well-intentioned , if miseducated man with severe personal deficiencies which manifest themselves in occasionally brilliant but mostly disastrous behavior .
Profiles in Corruption ... Schweizer , Peter Best Price : $ 17.98 Buy New $ 17.99 Energy Dominance was always a misguided and Quixotic endeavor .
Why ?
Because Trump could never turn financial engineering a shale boom into a sustainable advantage over lower-cost producers like Russia and the OPEC nations .
The policy of blasting open the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ built on an endless supply of near-zero cost credit was always going to run into a wall of oversupply and not enough demand .
The dramatic collapse of U.S. oil prices in the futures markets which saw the May contract close on April 20th at $ -40.57 per barrel is the Shale Miracle hitting the fan of low demand and leaving the producers and consumers in a state which can only happen thanks to biblical levels of government intervention .
The next morning , ever needing to look like the good guy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear from this statement that Trump is ready to throw more trillions at the oil industry to keep it and the millions of jobs from disappearing as he does what he always does when confronted with a real problem , doubles down on the behavior that caused it in the first place .
Politicians , even the best ones , are ultimately vandals .
They have no other tool than to reallocate scarce capital towards their ends rather than that demanded by the market .
And the main reason why Trump was never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he started was because the world doesn ’ t want the type and kind of oil the U.S. produces at the quantities needed to “ Win !
” Ultra-light sweet crude coming from the Bakken , Eagle Ford and Permian simply isn ’ t that high in demand for export .
It ’ s of limited usage .
And , in the end , if the price is right enough , offering oil for sale in ‘ not-dollars ’ only makes that demand curve even more elastic .
COSORI Premium Food De ... @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oil prices which Trump is desperate to stop won ’ t simply because Trump stands there like King Canute , arms outstretched .
He and his terrible energy policy stand naked now that the tide has gone out .
And the reason for this is simple .
There is more to the world economy than money .
Money is what makes the economy work but it , in and of itself , is incapable of creating wealth .
All money does is act as a means to express our needs and desires at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s vandalizing the world ’ s energy markets for the past three and a half years now comes back to bite him .
To prop up surging U.S. production he has : Supported a disastrous war against the people of Yemen Repurposed U.S. troops clinging to positions in Syria while stealing their oil Nearly started a shooting war with Iran… .
Twice .
Embargoed Venezuela , stole its money , attempted a failed coup and brought even more support to President Maduro from Russia and China .
Supported a vicious war to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sowed chaos enough to set Turkey to claiming the Eastern Mediterranean while fighting a losing war in Libya .
Presidential Puppetry : ... Kreig , Andrew Best Price : $ 27.95 Buy New $ 27.95 Spent trillions throwing the U.S. budget deficit for 2020 out beyond 20 % of the U.S. ’ s 2019 GDP .
I could go on , but I think you get the point .
None of these acts are defensible as anything other than immoral and counterproductive .
Having antagonized literally more than three-quarters of the world with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his destructive gaze on the very people he purports to serve , the American people .
Saving jobs through subsidies is capital destructive .
It doesn ’ t matter who does it , Trump , Putin , Xi or FDR .
If Trump tariffs on imports it will only keep the cost of energy for Americans higher than it should be at a time when they need it to be as cheap as possible .
The incentive to improve performance by these companies , shutter expensive wells , default on debt or shift @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happen .
The healthy cleansing of bankruptcy is averted .
The vultures who profited on the way up will not go bankrupt because the bust is avoided and those that were prudent waiting for this moment will not be rewarded with the reins of the means of production .
And again , we see another one-way trade for Wall St. All Trump will do here is entrench the very powers that he thinks he ’ s been fighting , destroying small businesses , nationalizing , in effect , whole swaths of the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ everyone else around the world shrugs when he bark .
Because the net effect has been to see the rise in more of the oil trade conducted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar .
That trend will continue in a deflating price environment where the need to service dollar-denominated debt is soaking up the supply of dollars faster than the Fed can monetize the debt issued by the U.S. Treasury .
The oil trade will shift from dollars .
Dollars will be used to pay off debt , the world will decouple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ currently hoarded overseas and whose demand today will be supply tomorrow will ensure the U.S. economy suffers the worst kind of depression , one of rising commodity prices , falling asset prices and falling wages .
Aulinx 110V 36W UV Lam ... Buy New $ 139.99 So , Trump will continue to be , as I put it recently , The Master of the Seen , choosing , as always , to ignore the unseen effects of propping up firms that should rightly go the way of all bad ideas , like Marxism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on its budget .
It looks like a nuclear bomb , but that ’ s only because of the continued arrogance and necessity of politicians , like Trump , needing to be ‘ seen ’ doing something caused far more damage than it would have if they hadn ’ t intervened in the first place .
The adage , “ never let a crisis go to waste , ” is apropos here .
Politicians use the cover of crisis to act .
They have to be ‘ seen ’ acting rather than not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because he truly can ’ t stand criticism .
A man without principles , Trump acts mostly out of his need to deflect criticism and be ‘ seen ’ by his base as their champion .
But no , Trump outs himself as the biggest Marxist of all time , defending the workers while robbing them of their future through the destruction of their real wealth .
His policy mistakes become our real problems .
And he compounded those problems by listening to the medical complex vultures about COVID-19 and now he ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the price .
He is someone without the sense or the understanding that sometimes the best thing to do is admit defeat , reverse course and put down the scepter of power .
But Trump doesn ’ t know how to do that .
He doesn ’ t know how to actually lead .
Energy Dominance will turn into an Energy Albatross and it will weigh on Trump ’ s neck in his second term that will see him leave office reviled as the great destroyer of not only the U.S. ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ standing in the world .
The views of individual contributors do not necessarily represent those of the Strategic Culture Foundation .
The Best of Thomas Luongo

From the very beginning I’ve been a staunch critic of President Trump’s “Energy Dominance” policy. And I was so for a myriad of reasons, but mostly because it was stupid.
Not just stupid, monumentally stupid. Breathtakingly stupid.
And I don’t say this as someone who hates Trump without reservation. In fact, I continue to hope he will wake up one day and stop being the Donald Trump I know and be the Donald Trump he needs to be.
I don’t have Trump Derangement Syndrome of any sort. Neither MAGApede nor Q-Tard, an Orange Man Bad cultist or NPC Soy Boy, I see Trump for what he is – a well-intentioned, if miseducated man with severe personal deficiencies which manifest themselves in occasionally brilliant but mostly disastrous behavior.
Profiles in Corruption... Schweizer, Peter Best Price: $17.98 Buy New $17.99 (as of 03:27 UTC - Details) Energy Dominance was always a misguided and Quixotic endeavor. Why? Because Trump could never turn financial engineering a shale boom into a sustainable advantage over lower-cost producers like Russia and the OPEC nations.
The policy of blasting open the U.S. oil spigots to produce a production boom built on an endless supply of near-zero cost credit was always going to run into a wall of oversupply and not enough demand.
The dramatic collapse of U.S. oil prices in the futures markets which saw the May contract close on April 20th at $-40.57 per barrel is the Shale Miracle hitting the fan of low demand and leaving the producers and consumers in a state which can only happen thanks to biblical levels of government intervention.
A broken market.
The next morning, ever needing to look like the good guy, Trump tweets out:
We will never let the great U.S. Oil & Gas Industry down. I have instructed the Secretary of Energy and Secretary of the Treasury to formulate a plan which will make funds available so that these very important companies and jobs will be secured long into the future! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2020
It’s clear from this statement that Trump is ready to throw more trillions at the oil industry to keep it and the millions of jobs from disappearing as he does what he always does when confronted with a real problem, doubles down on the behavior that caused it in the first place.
Politicians, even the best ones, are ultimately vandals. They have no other tool than to reallocate scarce capital towards their ends rather than that demanded by the market.
And the main reason why Trump was never going to win the Energy Dominance War he started was because the world doesn’t want the type and kind of oil the U.S. produces at the quantities needed to “Win!”
Ultra-light sweet crude coming from the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Permian simply isn’t that high in demand for export. It’s of limited usage. And, in the end, if the price is right enough, offering oil for sale in ‘not-dollars’ only makes that demand curve even more elastic. COSORI Premium Food De... Buy New $159.99 (as of 02:28 UTC - Details)
The collapse in oil prices which Trump is desperate to stop won’t simply because Trump stands there like King Canute, arms outstretched. He and his terrible energy policy stand naked now that the tide has gone out.
And the reason for this is simple. There is more to the world economy than money. Money is what makes the economy work but it, in and of itself, is incapable of creating wealth. All money does is act as a means to express our needs and desires at the moment of the trade.
Trump’s vandalizing the world’s energy markets for the past three and a half years now comes back to bite him. To prop up surging U.S. production he has:
Supported a disastrous war against the people of Yemen
Repurposed U.S. troops clinging to positions in Syria while stealing their oil
Nearly started a shooting war with Iran…. Twice.
Embargoed Venezuela, stole its money, attempted a failed coup and brought even more support to President Maduro from Russia and China.
Spent billions pointing missiles at Russia via NATO.
Supported a vicious war to prevent the secession of the Donbass.
Delayed the construction of Nordstream 2.
Sowed chaos enough to set Turkey to claiming the Eastern Mediterranean while fighting a losing war in Libya. Presidential Puppetry:... Kreig, Andrew Best Price: $27.95 Buy New $27.95 (as of 02:47 UTC - Details)
Started a massive trade war with China.
Spent trillions throwing the U.S. budget deficit for 2020 out beyond 20% of the U.S.’s 2019 GDP.
I could go on, but I think you get the point. None of these acts are defensible as anything other than immoral and counterproductive.
Having antagonized literally more than three-quarters of the world with this insanity, Trump will now turn his destructive gaze on the very people he purports to serve, the American people. Saving jobs through subsidies is capital destructive. It doesn’t matter who does it, Trump, Putin, Xi or FDR.
If Trump tariffs on imports it will only keep the cost of energy for Americans higher than it should be at a time when they need it to be as cheap as possible.
The incentive to improve performance by these companies, shutter expensive wells, default on debt or shift capital away from the unproductive will not happen. The healthy cleansing of bankruptcy is averted. The vultures who profited on the way up will not go bankrupt because the bust is avoided and those that were prudent waiting for this moment will not be rewarded with the reins of the means of production.
And again, we see another one-way trade for Wall St.
All Trump will do here is entrench the very powers that he thinks he’s been fighting, destroying small businesses, nationalizing, in effect, whole swaths of the U.S. economy and setting up the day when everyone else around the world shrugs when he bark.
Because the net effect has been to see the rise in more of the oil trade conducted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. That trend will continue in a deflating price environment where the need to service dollar-denominated debt is soaking up the supply of dollars faster than the Fed can monetize the debt issued by the U.S. Treasury.
The oil trade will shift from dollars. Dollars will be used to pay off debt, the world will decouple from the dollar and all those dollars currently hoarded overseas and whose demand today will be supply tomorrow will ensure the U.S. economy suffers the worst kind of depression, one of rising commodity prices, falling asset prices and falling wages. Aulinx 110V 36W UV Lam... Buy New $139.99 (as of 02:28 UTC - Details)
So, Trump will continue to be, as I put it recently, The Master of the Seen, choosing, as always, to ignore the unseen effects of propping up firms that should rightly go the way of all bad ideas, like Marxism.
The U.S. had a grenade dropped on its budget. It looks like a nuclear bomb, but that’s only because of the continued arrogance and necessity of politicians, like Trump, needing to be ‘seen’ doing something caused far more damage than it would have if they hadn’t intervened in the first place.
The adage, “never let a crisis go to waste,” is apropos here. Politicians use the cover of crisis to act. They have to be ‘seen’ acting rather than not. Trump is acutely aware of this because he truly can’t stand criticism.
A man without principles, Trump acts mostly out of his need to deflect criticism and be ‘seen’ by his base as their champion.
But no, Trump outs himself as the biggest Marxist of all time, defending the workers while robbing them of their future through the destruction of their real wealth. His policy mistakes become our real problems. And he compounded those problems by listening to the medical complex vultures about COVID-19 and now he’s trapped but everyone else will pay the price.
He is someone without the sense or the understanding that sometimes the best thing to do is admit defeat, reverse course and put down the scepter of power. But Trump doesn’t know how to do that. He doesn’t know how to actually lead.
Energy Dominance will turn into an Energy Albatross and it will weigh on Trump’s neck in his second term that will see him leave office reviled as the great destroyer of not only the U.S.’s wealth, but more importantly, its standing in the world.
The views of individual contributors do not necessarily represent those of the Strategic Culture Foundation.
The Best of Tom Luongo


lewrockwell--2020-04-25--The Seven-Step Path From Pandemic to Totalitarianism

As if it was planned in advance , billions of people around the globe are being forced step by rapid step into a radically different way of life , one that involves far less personal , physical and financial freedom and agency Here is the template for rolling this out .
A new virus starts to spread around the world .
The World Health Organization ( WHO ) declares a pandemic .
International agencies , public-health officials , politicians , media and other influential voices fan fear by focusing almost exclusively on the contagiousness of the virus and the rising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus as extremely dangerous .
Rveal | 2-Pack UV Sani ... Buy New $ 129.00 Within a few days governments at national and local levels also declare states of emergency .
At lightning speed they impose lock-down measures that confine most people to their homes – starting with closing schools – and shut down much of the global economy .
World markets implode .
The stunned , fearful and credulous public – convinced over the previous few years that their bodies do not have the natural ability to react to pathogens by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ largely complies willingly .
The first weekly virtual class on local emergency and crisis responses to COVID19 is held for mayors and other city officials around the world .
Coordinated by a handful of American organizations in the academic , medical , financial , political and transportation spheres , the classes feature guests ranging from Barack Obama to Bill Gates .
National , state/provincial and municipal leaders , as well as public-health officials , start daily press briefings .
They use them to pump out frightening statistics and modelling asserting the virus has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sundown Organics Respo ... Buy New $ 14.94 ( $ 0.50 / Count ) Most of this information is hard to decipher and sheds little real light on the natural course of the virus ’ s spread through each geographic area .
Officials and media downplay or distort inconveniently low death tolls from the virus and instead focus on alarming statistics produced by compliant academics , social-media influencers and high-profile organizations .
The main message is that this is a war and many lives are at stake unless virtually everybody stays at home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world is at the mercy of the virus .
Simultaneously , central banks and governments hand out massive amounts of cash largely to benefit the big banks .
And they bring in giant private-sector financial firms to manage the process despite these global companies ’ very poor track record in the 2008-2009 crash .
Governments also rapidly start to create trillions of pounds ’ worth of programs that include compensating businesses and workers for their shutdown-related losses .

As if it was planned in advance, billions of people around the globe are being forced step by rapid step into a radically different way of life, one that involves far less personal, physical and financial freedom and agency
Here is the template for rolling this out.
STEP 1
A new virus starts to spread around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) declares a pandemic.
International agencies, public-health officials, politicians, media and other influential voices fan fear by focusing almost exclusively on the contagiousness of the virus and the rising numbers of cases, and by characterizing the virus as extremely dangerous. Rveal | 2-Pack UV Sani... Buy New $129.00 (as of 02:29 UTC - Details)
Within a few days governments at national and local levels also declare states of emergency. At lightning speed they impose lock-down measures that confine most people to their homes – starting with closing schools – and shut down much of the global economy. World markets implode.
The stunned, fearful and credulous public – convinced over the previous few years that their bodies do not have the natural ability to react to pathogens by producing antibodies that confer long-lasting immunity – largely complies willingly.
The first weekly virtual class on local emergency and crisis responses to COVID19 is held for mayors and other city officials around the world. Coordinated by a handful of American organizations in the academic, medical, financial, political and transportation spheres, the classes feature guests ranging from Barack Obama to Bill Gates.
STEP 2
National, state/provincial and municipal leaders, as well as public-health officials, start daily press briefings. They use them to pump out frightening statistics and modelling asserting the virus has the potential to kill many millions. Sundown Organics Respo... Buy New $14.94 ($0.50 / Count) (as of 05:03 UTC - Details)
Most of this information is hard to decipher and sheds little real light on the natural course of the virus’s spread through each geographic area.
Officials and media downplay or distort inconveniently low death tolls from the virus and instead focus on alarming statistics produced by compliant academics, social-media influencers and high-profile organizations.
The main message is that this is a war and many lives are at stake unless virtually everybody stays at home. Mainstream media amplify the trope that the world is at the mercy of the virus.
Simultaneously, central banks and governments hand out massive amounts of cash largely to benefit the big banks. And they bring in giant private-sector financial firms to manage the process despite these global companies’ very poor track record in the 2008-2009 crash. Governments also rapidly start to create trillions of pounds’ worth of programs that include compensating businesses and workers for their shutdown-related losses.
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-04-25--The Real Reason the Government Shutdown Caused an Economic Collapse

International Man : Is the government ’ s reaction to COVID-19 worse than the virus itself ?
What are your thoughts ?
David Stockman : I think for once , Donald Trump was right when he worried out loud the other day that the cure may be far worse than the disease .
Governors—mostly Democratic governors and mayors of major areas of the country—have imposed Lockdown Nation .
It ’ s a complete economic disaster .
It ’ s a wrong policy from a public health point of view and an economic point of view .
It is hitting , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ highly fragile and vulnerable economy that was living hand to mouth anyway because of the kind of highly counterproductive monetary and fiscal policies and debt build-up we ’ ve had over the last 30 years .
The Great Deformation : ... David A. Stockman Best Price : $ 2.00 Buy New $ 9.95 If you look at the data for New York—which is the epicenter of the whole COVID-19 pandemic—it is abundantly clear that COVID is not some kind of latter-day Black Death plague that takes down the young , the old , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ everyone in between .
It is a kind of super winter flu that strikes fatally , almost entirely , the elderly population that is already afflicted with many life-threatening medical conditions—or what the technicians call comorbidities .
The shutdown , which I call the “ plenary lockdown policy , ” is wrong .
Closing all the businesses except a tiny , arbitrary set of essential operations is courting disaster for no good reason .
Here ’ s what the New York data showed us recently .
New York is ground zero and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the breakdown of that number by age and by medical condition , it ’ s startling .
For those under 50 years of age in the state of New York , the death rate is slightly under 5 per 100,000 .
That isn ’ t a disaster .
That isn ’ t a plague or a calamity .
Five per 100,000 is half the rate of suicides per 100,000 annually among the 50 and under population .
It is a small fraction of the 90 deaths per 100,000 annually that occur for all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suicide .
Peak Trump : The Undrai ... David A. Stockman Best Price : $ 12.72 Buy New $ 43.07 You would not , in the slightest , in any kind of sane world , shut down an entire economy and lock down everything when you have a 5 per 100,000 death rate for the overwhelming share of the population .
On the other hand , if you look at the population 80 years and older in New York state—the death rate is 1,086 deaths per 100,000 .
In other words , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus is not a fatal problem for the overwhelming share of the population .
Lots of people get infected .
Most are asymptomatic .
Some get sick and stay in bed for a couple of days , and they recover .
A tiny fraction of the under-50-years population gets seriously ill and is hospitalized for treatment , and an infinitesimal number end up as fatalities .
That ’ s the case for the healthy population under 50 .
It ’ s in the over-70 age group , and especially in the over-80 age @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these severe cases has developed .
The strategy shouldn ’ t be a plenary lockdown .
The right approach is to trace , identify , isolate , support , and treat the vulnerable population that already has many illnesses .
If we look at New York again , of those deaths among the elderly population , 60 % had hypertension or high blood pressure , 31 % had diabetes , etc .
All of them , almost overwhelmingly , had one , two , or three comorbidities .
We don ’ t need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We need Governor Cuomo to tell the health department to mobilize the doctors and the healthcare apparatus of New York to identify the vulnerable elderly population .
This population is already being treated in many cases for serious respiratory problems , heart ailments , and other diseases—and we are making sure that they ’ re as isolated and protected from this bad winter flu as they possibly can be .
Aftermath : Seven Secre ... Rickards , James Best Price : $ 22.12 Buy New $ 18.89 It ’ s not merely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s that they ’ ve got it ass-backward .
You don ’ t lock down the population .
You target the sub-population , the small minority of very vulnerable people , and do everything you can to shield them from this virus until it passes into the summer temperatures and the normal herd immunity that eventually will make it go away .
International Man : Those are excellent points .
That ’ s not to mention that in the US , two out of three Americans are overweight or obese and have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those people , the risk goes up substantially for those who have two or more conditions .
It puts them at higher risk for something like COVID-19 to take them down .
David Stockman : I think that ’ s true , but even if you look at the New York data , again , it ’ s startling .
For the under-50-year-old population , I can ’ t emphasize it enough—it ’ s 5 per 100,000 .
That ’ s a rounding error in the scheme of things .
You can ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risk of 5 out of 100,000 people .
So , I think you ’ re hitting it right on the head .
What we need to think about is how much longer—and we ’ re not talking about months and quarters , we ’ re talking about days and weeks—we can possibly stand a shutdown that has already put 22 million people on unemployment claims in four weeks .
Let ’ s compare this to the worst four weeks of the Great Recession , which is the worst economic calamity that we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Survival of the Riches ... Donald Jeffries Best Price : $ 7.29 Buy New $ 11.50 During the worst three-week period in the winter of 2008/2009 , the cumulative new unemployment claims were 2.7 million , not 22 million .
So , this is eight times worse .
We might add that it ’ s going to be 30 million , or close to that , very soon .
We have an economy that ’ s in free fall , unlike anything we ’ ve ever seen before , and we have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , trying to compensate for the economic collapse that is being ordered by the government itself .
What I ’ m talking about is the Everything Bailout that was signed without a record vote in the house , with no hearings— $ 2.2 trillion , on top of two or three other bills that had passed earlier .
There ’ s another trillion that they ’ re talking about in the pipeline as a sort of a replenishment bill .
Even beyond that , then they ’ re talking about a stimulus and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at $ 2 billion .
It is insanity .
Let ’ s just look at what ’ s happening in the here and now .
What the government is trying to do is hold everyone in America harmless , and every business in America harmless , for the massive dislocation , disruption of business cash flow , and interruption of paychecks that have resulted from these lockdown orders .
Where is it taking us ?
This year alone—and these are not my numbers ; they come from the most credible Washington DC agency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of , The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget .
That ’ s kind of an oxymoron , but it exists .
They had projected that during the fiscal year underway—which was half over before the whole COVID lockdown even got started—that the deficit is going to total $ 3.8 trillion .
I ’ m not talking about total spending .
I ’ m talking about just the deficit .
It ’ s roughly 19 % of GDP .
It ’ s a deficit in the same order of magnitude as we had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ II .
During that time , the whole economy was producing military material and weapons , and nobody could spend any money on anything except necessities because everything else was rationed or wasn ’ t being produced .
So they bought a lot of government war bonds .
So where we are right now , suddenly , overnight , is in a disastrous fiscal situation .
This self-inflicted shock has transformed the Trump-Republican trillion dollar per year deficits at the top of the business cycle .
It has transformed a terrible situation into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re going to borrow $ 3.8 trillion this year alone .
The number for fiscal 2021—which starts in October—is going to be another $ 2.5 trillion at minimum , or probably more .
Now the reason I bring this up is because we ’ re looking at a two-year period in which the combined deficits are likely to exceed $ 6 trillion in two years .
These numbers are so humongous that they ’ re almost impossible for ordinary people—or even people who study this subject regularly—to grasp .
I think the best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see that $ 6 trillion of new debt in two years is equivalent to what it took 213 years and 43 presidents to produce—that ’ s how long it took to get to the first $ 6 trillion of public debt .
That ’ s how bad this has gotten , and it will destroy any remaining semblance of market capitalism we have in this country .
When you have a coast-to-coast soup line , with the government underwriting 100 % of what everybody was getting in January 2020 by merely piling it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ having the Fed printing money to fund it , you ’ re asking for a calamity—a financial and economic disaster of biblical proportions .
The Best of David Stockman

International Man: Is the government’s reaction to COVID-19 worse than the virus itself? What are your thoughts?
David Stockman: I think for once, Donald Trump was right when he worried out loud the other day that the cure may be far worse than the disease.
Governors—mostly Democratic governors and mayors of major areas of the country—have imposed Lockdown Nation. It’s a complete economic disaster.
It’s a wrong policy from a public health point of view and an economic point of view.
It is hitting, like a ton of bricks, a highly fragile and vulnerable economy that was living hand to mouth anyway because of the kind of highly counterproductive monetary and fiscal policies and debt build-up we’ve had over the last 30 years. The Great Deformation:... David A. Stockman Best Price: $2.00 Buy New $9.95 (as of 09:55 UTC - Details)
If you look at the data for New York—which is the epicenter of the whole COVID-19 pandemic—it is abundantly clear that COVID is not some kind of latter-day Black Death plague that takes down the young, the old, the healthy, the sick, and everyone in between.
It is a kind of super winter flu that strikes fatally, almost entirely, the elderly population that is already afflicted with many life-threatening medical conditions—or what the technicians call comorbidities.
The shutdown, which I call the “plenary lockdown policy,” is wrong. Closing all the businesses except a tiny, arbitrary set of essential operations is courting disaster for no good reason.
Here’s what the New York data showed us recently.
New York is ground zero and the epicenter. But if you look at the breakdown of that number by age and by medical condition, it’s startling.
For those under 50 years of age in the state of New York, the death rate is slightly under 5 per 100,000.
That isn’t a disaster. That isn’t a plague or a calamity.
Five per 100,000 is half the rate of suicides per 100,000 annually among the 50 and under population. It is a small fraction of the 90 deaths per 100,000 annually that occur for all kinds of reasons: accidents and illnesses—including suicide.
Peak Trump: The Undrai... David A. Stockman Best Price: $12.72 Buy New $43.07 (as of 11:40 UTC - Details) You would not, in the slightest, in any kind of sane world, shut down an entire economy and lock down everything when you have a 5 per 100,000 death rate for the overwhelming share of the population.
On the other hand, if you look at the population 80 years and older in New York state—the death rate is 1,086 deaths per 100,000. In other words, it’s night and day.
The virus is not a fatal problem for the overwhelming share of the population.
Lots of people get infected. Most are asymptomatic. Some get sick and stay in bed for a couple of days, and they recover. A tiny fraction of the under-50-years population gets seriously ill and is hospitalized for treatment, and an infinitesimal number end up as fatalities. That’s the case for the healthy population under 50.
It’s in the over-70 age group, and especially in the over-80 age group, that the overwhelming share of these severe cases has developed.
The strategy shouldn’t be a plenary lockdown. The right approach is to trace, identify, isolate, support, and treat the vulnerable population that already has many illnesses.
If we look at New York again, of those deaths among the elderly population, 60% had hypertension or high blood pressure, 31% had diabetes, etc. All of them, almost overwhelmingly, had one, two, or three comorbidities.
We don’t need Governor Cuomo to shut down the state. We need Governor Cuomo to tell the health department to mobilize the doctors and the healthcare apparatus of New York to identify the vulnerable elderly population. This population is already being treated in many cases for serious respiratory problems, heart ailments, and other diseases—and we are making sure that they’re as isolated and protected from this bad winter flu as they possibly can be. Aftermath: Seven Secre... Rickards, James Best Price: $22.12 Buy New $18.89 (as of 02:31 UTC - Details)
It’s not merely a matter of degree. It’s that they’ve got it ass-backward.
You don’t lock down the population. You target the sub-population, the small minority of very vulnerable people, and do everything you can to shield them from this virus until it passes into the summer temperatures and the normal herd immunity that eventually will make it go away.
International Man: Those are excellent points. That’s not to mention that in the US, two out of three Americans are overweight or obese and have a pre-chronic or chronic condition. And of those people, the risk goes up substantially for those who have two or more conditions. It puts them at higher risk for something like COVID-19 to take them down.
David Stockman: I think that’s true, but even if you look at the New York data, again, it’s startling.
For the under-50-year-old population, I can’t emphasize it enough—it’s 5 per 100,000. That’s a rounding error in the scheme of things.
You can’t run a society based on the risk of 5 out of 100,000 people.
So, I think you’re hitting it right on the head.
What we need to think about is how much longer—and we’re not talking about months and quarters, we’re talking about days and weeks—we can possibly stand a shutdown that has already put 22 million people on unemployment claims in four weeks.
Let’s compare this to the worst four weeks of the Great Recession, which is the worst economic calamity that we’ve had since the Great Depression. Survival of the Riches... Donald Jeffries Best Price: $7.29 Buy New $11.50 (as of 07:10 UTC - Details)
During the worst three-week period in the winter of 2008/2009, the cumulative new unemployment claims were 2.7 million, not 22 million. So, this is eight times worse.
We might add that it’s going to be 30 million, or close to that, very soon.
We have an economy that’s in free fall, unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, and we have a government that’s in total hysteria, trying to compensate for the economic collapse that is being ordered by the government itself.
What I’m talking about is the Everything Bailout that was signed without a record vote in the house, with no hearings—$2.2 trillion, on top of two or three other bills that had passed earlier. There’s another trillion that they’re talking about in the pipeline as a sort of a replenishment bill.
Even beyond that, then they’re talking about a stimulus and infrastructure bill, where the bidding starts at $2 billion. It is insanity.
Let’s just look at what’s happening in the here and now.
What the government is trying to do is hold everyone in America harmless, and every business in America harmless, for the massive dislocation, disruption of business cash flow, and interruption of paychecks that have resulted from these lockdown orders.
Where is it taking us?
This year alone—and these are not my numbers; they come from the most credible Washington DC agency, which I’m a part of, The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. That’s kind of an oxymoron, but it exists.
They had projected that during the fiscal year underway—which was half over before the whole COVID lockdown even got started—that the deficit is going to total $3.8 trillion.
I’m not talking about total spending. I’m talking about just the deficit. It’s roughly 19% of GDP.
It’s a deficit in the same order of magnitude as we had during the darkest days of World War II. During that time, the whole economy was producing military material and weapons, and nobody could spend any money on anything except necessities because everything else was rationed or wasn’t being produced. So they bought a lot of government war bonds.
So where we are right now, suddenly, overnight, is in a disastrous fiscal situation.
This self-inflicted shock has transformed the Trump-Republican trillion dollar per year deficits at the top of the business cycle.
It has transformed a terrible situation into a catastrophic situation, where they’re going to borrow $3.8 trillion this year alone. The number for fiscal 2021—which starts in October—is going to be another $2.5 trillion at minimum, or probably more.
Now the reason I bring this up is because we’re looking at a two-year period in which the combined deficits are likely to exceed $6 trillion in two years. These numbers are so humongous that they’re almost impossible for ordinary people—or even people who study this subject regularly—to grasp.
I think the best way to look at it is to see that $6 trillion of new debt in two years is equivalent to what it took 213 years and 43 presidents to produce—that’s how long it took to get to the first $6 trillion of public debt.
That’s how bad this has gotten, and it will destroy any remaining semblance of market capitalism we have in this country.
When you have a coast-to-coast soup line, with the government underwriting 100% of what everybody was getting in January 2020 by merely piling it onto the public debt, and then having the Fed printing money to fund it, you’re asking for a calamity—a financial and economic disaster of biblical proportions.
Reprinted with permission from International Man.
The Best of David Stockman


Turning and Churning

It ’ s one thing to get sandbagged by a public health crisis – a plague being about the worst kind – and quite another for an advanced , complex economy to fall away under your feet like a freight elevator that snapped its cables .
The two are now linked in the public imagination , which naturally churns out narratives to serve the collective human craving for pattern recognition .
“ The news ” is the net sum of all that , mixed with a lot of cognitive “ noise.
” Even highly intelligent people have a hard time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ full of stories , often contradictory , charged with anger , horror , indignation , and agendas , mostly unhelpful and some quite dangerous – like the cry that China must pay for this !
Uh , like how ?
Send them an invoice : Please remit $ 11.7 trillion to the address above… ?
Release the US Airborne over Beijing as if it were Belgium , 1944… ?
Drop the big one… ?
( They have big ones , too . )
Grievances and recriminations sprout like the skunk cabbages of April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they could rule the world… .
The Democrats are lovin ’ it cuz it ’ ll finally get rid of the wicked Trump… .
Bill Gates is lovin ’ it because the vaccine he ’ s working on will make him rich… !
Doctors Fauci and Birx are tools of Big Pharma… !
The New World Order ( aka The Globalists ) are using it to take away our freedom and turn us into the foot-servants of George Soros… !
Living in the Long Eme ... James Howard Kunstler Buy New $ 24.95 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seriousness of the disease itself .
The statistical through-put of the moment appears to underwhelm the models the USA and Europe constructed at the onset of the plague .
At least , that is , far fewer people have died , and of those , mostly the very old and those burdened with chronic illnesses – but also quite a few doctors and nurses in the prime of life .
The statistical model is queered by many other uncertainties : is this really the peak ?
Does the plague come raging back if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Can you catch it again ?
Will it return in waves next fall and spring ?
We have those models and pockets full of suppositions , theories , terrors .
Here ’ s what I think about the disease just now ( subject to further evidence ) : it ’ s not just another flu .
It operates differently , it ’ s more lethal , it affects many organs and can damage them permanently , and it spreads rapidly .
That seems to have been the consensus of public health officials the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – and it ’ s hard to believe that they all got snookered into that .
I have no idea ( or opinion ) whether Covid-19 was engineered , either as a bio-weapon or a good-faith science project gone awry… or whether some hapless gourmet got it at the Wild Animal Cafe .
The plague didn ’ t cause the economic crash .
But the lockdown response certainly accelerated , amplified , and ramified it .
The crash happened because we built up a hyper-complex , over-scaled , just-in-time economic system with all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sake of efficiency , making it hyper-fragile .
The system ’ s basic power module ( fossil fuel ) was failing on a cost-basis and we tried to compensate for that with debt .
The debt got out of hand in both sheer quantity and from the dishonest games that bankers and politicians were playing with it .
All of this happened for the reason that most things happen in history : it seemed like a good idea at the time .
The old system is permanently broken now .
We ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plague or no plague .
Many activities have flunked the scale challenge and will not come back to running the way they used to , generally anything organized at the giant scale : global supply chains , global corporations that depend on them , fracking for shale oil , big institutions like colleges and even public school systems , commercial aviation and tourism , the auto industry , show business ( including the Disney empire and things like it ) , suburbia as a general proposition , skyscrapers and megastructures , shopping malls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mega-banks , and , of course , medical conglomerates .
We ’ re deceived by Amazon.com , which appears to be successful at the moment because it is filling a vacuum that Amazon will also eventually fall into .
Amazon ’ s business model is a joke .
The model is : every item purchased makes a separate journey by truck to the customer .
That ’ s a “ sell ” signal to me .
World Made by Hand : A ... Kunstler , James Howard Best Price : $ 1.10 Buy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people crazy .
It ’ s one thing to be stuck in the house with spouses and relatives you can barely stand under normal circumstances .
But to see all your financial support systems melt down at the same time , along with the implications for your hopes-and-dreams , is a pretty big shock .
Naturally so many want to bust out of the waking nightmare and get going , to return to action , to at least see whether what they were doing before all this happened might restart .
I dunno @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to restaurants to spend some of that fresh-minted $ 1200 , and then what ?
Where will the next $ 1200 come from ?
Modern Monetary Theory ?
A new Guaranteed Basic Income ?
From what ?
From taxes paid by which businesses generating what profits from people too broke to buy goods and services ?
I don ’ t think so .
Times have changed and we ’ re going to have to get some new good ideas that fit the new times .
But , the craziness out there is very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we discover the urge to action does not produce the desired result of returning-to-normal .
Instead , it produces more disorder in the foundering system , and then the question is : how much disorder do we have to slog through to get to those new ideas suited to the new times ?
I ’ ve got one of my own .
The mule business !
Seriously .
Too Much Magic : Wishfu ... James Howard Kunstler Best Price : $ 4.53 Buy New $ 8.06 The Geography of Nowhe ... James Howard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New $ 11.88 The Best of James Howard Kunstler

It’s one thing to get sandbagged by a public health crisis – a plague being about the worst kind – and quite another for an advanced, complex economy to fall away under your feet like a freight elevator that snapped its cables. The two are now linked in the public imagination, which naturally churns out narratives to serve the collective human craving for pattern recognition.
“The news” is the net sum of all that, mixed with a lot of cognitive “noise.” Even highly intelligent people have a hard time sorting it out. The Internet is full of stories, often contradictory, charged with anger, horror, indignation, and agendas, mostly unhelpful and some quite dangerous – like the cry that China must pay for this! Uh, like how? Send them an invoice: Please remit $11.7 trillion to the address above…? Release the US Airborne over Beijing as if it were Belgium, 1944…? Drop the big one…? (They have big ones, too.)
Grievances and recriminations sprout like the skunk cabbages of April: China did it to us so they could rule the world…. The Democrats are lovin’ it cuz it’ll finally get rid of the wicked Trump…. Bill Gates is lovin’ it because the vaccine he’s working on will make him rich…! Doctors Fauci and Birx are tools of Big Pharma…! The New World Order (aka The Globalists) are using it to take away our freedom and turn us into the foot-servants of George Soros…! Living in the Long Eme... James Howard Kunstler Buy New $24.95 (as of 10:56 UTC - Details)
Probably the biggest argument is over the seriousness of the disease itself. The statistical through-put of the moment appears to underwhelm the models the USA and Europe constructed at the onset of the plague. At least, that is, far fewer people have died, and of those, mostly the very old and those burdened with chronic illnesses – but also quite a few doctors and nurses in the prime of life. The statistical model is queered by many other uncertainties: is this really the peak? Does the plague come raging back if people go back to circulating freely? Can you catch it again? Will it return in waves next fall and spring? We have those models and pockets full of suppositions, theories, terrors.
Here’s what I think about the disease just now (subject to further evidence): it’s not just another flu. It operates differently, it’s more lethal, it affects many organs and can damage them permanently, and it spreads rapidly. That seems to have been the consensus of public health officials the world round who promoted the lockdown policy – and it’s hard to believe that they all got snookered into that. I have no idea (or opinion) whether Covid-19 was engineered, either as a bio-weapon or a good-faith science project gone awry… or whether some hapless gourmet got it at the Wild Animal Cafe.
The plague didn’t cause the economic crash. But the lockdown response certainly accelerated, amplified, and ramified it. The crash happened because we built up a hyper-complex, over-scaled, just-in-time economic system with all its ecological redundancy edited out for the sake of efficiency, making it hyper-fragile. The system’s basic power module (fossil fuel) was failing on a cost-basis and we tried to compensate for that with debt. The debt got out of hand in both sheer quantity and from the dishonest games that bankers and politicians were playing with it. All of this happened for the reason that most things happen in history: it seemed like a good idea at the time.
The old system is permanently broken now. We’re having a hard time recognizing that, plague or no plague. Many activities have flunked the scale challenge and will not come back to running the way they used to, generally anything organized at the giant scale: global supply chains, global corporations that depend on them, fracking for shale oil, big institutions like colleges and even public school systems, commercial aviation and tourism, the auto industry, show business (including the Disney empire and things like it), suburbia as a general proposition, skyscrapers and megastructures, shopping malls, pension funds, insurance companies, mega-banks, and, of course, medical conglomerates. We’re deceived by Amazon.com, which appears to be successful at the moment because it is filling a vacuum that Amazon will also eventually fall into. Amazon’s business model is a joke. The model is: every item purchased makes a separate journey by truck to the customer. That’s a “sell” signal to me. World Made by Hand: A ... Kunstler, James Howard Best Price: $1.10 Buy New $10.56 (as of 10:30 UTC - Details)
The lockdown is making people crazy. It’s one thing to be stuck in the house with spouses and relatives you can barely stand under normal circumstances. But to see all your financial support systems melt down at the same time, along with the implications for your hopes-and-dreams, is a pretty big shock. Naturally so many want to bust out of the waking nightmare and get going, to return to action, to at least see whether what they were doing before all this happened might restart.
I dunno about that. They might flock back to restaurants to spend some of that fresh-minted $1200, and then what? Where will the next $1200 come from? Modern Monetary Theory? A new Guaranteed Basic Income? From what? From taxes paid by which businesses generating what profits from people too broke to buy goods and services? I don’t think so. Times have changed and we’re going to have to get some new good ideas that fit the new times. But, the craziness out there is very likely to start expressing itself differently as we discover the urge to action does not produce the desired result of returning-to-normal. Instead, it produces more disorder in the foundering system, and then the question is: how much disorder do we have to slog through to get to those new ideas suited to the new times?
I’ve got one of my own. The mule business! Seriously.
Reprinted with permission from Kunstler.com.
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lewrockwell--2020-04-25--The Destructive Effects of the Coronavirus Relief Package

Governments and their central banks have put together mega–bailout packages .
In the US , President Donald J. Trump has signed off on a $ 2 trillion “ virus relief package ” amounting to around 10 percent of the US gross domestic product .
It is meant to provide massive financial support—in the form of loans , tax breaks , and direct payments—to large and small businesses as well as individuals whose revenue and income have been destroyed by the politically dictated “ lockdown.
” What is more , the US Federal Reserve ( the Fed ) has provided a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It injects ever higher amounts of central bank money into the financial system by buying up all sorts of credit instruments—not only government bonds , but also mortgage debt , corporate bonds , commercial papers , etc .
The Fed thereby props up financial asset prices , keeping the cost of credit artificially low and , most importantly , avoids payment defaults on a grand scale .
In fact , the Fed is at the heart of all these rescue measures , for the US administration does not have the money to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Treasury will issue new bonds that will be bought by the Fed , which thereby creates new US dollar deposits in the hands of the US government .
These are then transferred to the bank accounts of entrepreneurs , consumers , and most of all to government beneficiaries ( its employees , service providers , and contractors ) .
As a result , the newly created money shows up in people ’ s bank accounts , increasing the stock of money in the economy .
The Causes of the Econ ... von Mises @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Buy New $ 11.95 Beyond that , the Fed purchases credit instruments—bonds and bills ( and perhaps even other assets at some stage ) .
As it does business with banks , the Fed ramps up the central bank money supply to the interbank market : Banks hand credit papers over to the Fed in exchange for newly created central bank money deposits .
As a result , the “ excess reserves ” of banks increase and credit risk is taken off their balance sheets .
Equity capital is freed up and can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , consumers , and , of course , government entities .
This also contributes to the increase in the outstanding money stock .
If and when the Fed purchases credit products from , say , hedge funds , mutual funds , and insurance companies , the quantity of money will also be increased : these market players will hand unwanted credit products over to the Fed in exchange for deposits held with commercial banks .
These new money balances can , and most likely will , be used to purchase other assets ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , etc. )
.
It becomes obvious that the mega–bailout package will effectively result in an increase in the quantity of money in the economy .
Sound economics tells us what the consequences are : the increase in the quantity of money will result in higher goods prices , thereby lowering the purchasing power of money .
In other words : the mega–bailout package boils down to “ money printing ” —to an inflationary policy .
Again , sound economic tells us that inflation is a policy redistributing income and wealth among people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation ; it creates winners and losers .
Those holding money will lose ; their wealth will dwindle .
And so will those holding bonds and bills denominated in the official currency .
In contrast , those holding stocks , bonds , real estate , commodities , art , etc .
may well benefit—if and when the prices of these assets increase as a result of the expansion of the outstanding money supply .
Overstretched borrowers will also benefit , as their default is prevented and their careless creditors ’ deserved losses are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ banks , financial institutions , big business , Wall Street , the establishment , and the deep state will for sure rank among the beneficiaries of the Fed ’ s backstop policy .
This amounts to a repetition of what happened during the crisis of 2008/2009 , when the Fed bailed out the economic and financial system .
This time , however , the costs will be higher—for it is very likely that people will see and feel its consequences—namely conspicuously rising goods prices .
When Money Dies : The N ... Adam @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New $ 10.08 The Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises ( 1881–1973 ) did capture what governments will do if and when they have access to the printing press very well .
In early 1923 , shortly before the scary hyperinflation took off in Germany , he finished the script for his essay “ Stabilitsation of the Monetary Unit—from the Viewpoint of Theory ” ( “ Die geldtheoretische Seite des Stabilisierungsproblems ” ) .
In it , Mises—clearsighted and foresighted as he was as an economist—anticipated the monetary disaster resulting from a central bank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policy .
He wrote : We have seen that if a government is not in a position to negotiate loans and does not dare levy additional taxation for fear that the financial and general economic effects will be revealed too clearly too soon so that it will lose support for its programme , it always considers it necessary to undertake inflationary measures .
Thus inflation becomes one of the most important psychological aids to an economic policy that tries to camouflage its effects .
In this sense , it may be described as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deceiving public opinion , it permits a system of government to continue , which would have no hope of receiving the approval of the people if conditions were frankly explained to them .
Today , the policy of printing new money to hold up an economic and financial system that can not last is being pursued again—as it has been in the past , on many occasions .
The question is not whether money will lose its purchasing power .
It is just a question of how much and how quickly .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be overcome quickly and , as a result , central banks will not have to monetize too much debt and issue too much newly created money .
What Has Government Do ... Murray N. Rothbard Best Price : $ 7.04 Buy New $ 6.50 But even then the underlying problem will not be solved ; it will merely be postponed , because the government-controlled unbacked paper money system will predictably lead to ever greater amounts of debt on the part of entrepreneurs , consumers , and , most importantly , governments .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ longer be in a position to service their debt .
This is the point at which the unbacked paper money system collapses altogether through payment defaults , or when governments begin to issue ever greater amounts of money in a last-ditch effort to fend off the inevitable .
That said , economies that have become addicted to unbacked money will , at some point , be confronted with a “ recession-depression ” à la 1929 or a German hyperinflation à la 1923 .
Meanwhile , however , governments and central banks ’ mega–bailout @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the artificial boom going—that is , in transposing the approaching economic and financial bust into yet another boom , thereby preventing the system from collapsing .
One thing , however , is certain : the official currencies—be it the greenback , the euro , Chinese renminbi , or the Japanese yen—will most likely lose their purchasing power .
The truth is that they have never been a reliable means to store wealth—and never will be .
Ludwig von Mises , The Causes of the Economic Crisis , and Other Essays before and after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ L. Greaves Jr. ( 1978 ; Auburn , AL : Ludwig von Mises Institute , 2006 ) , p. 38 .
Note : The views expressed on Mises.org are not necessarily those of the Mises Institute .
Economic Depressions ( ... Murray N. Rothbard Best Price : $ 6.50 Buy New $ 6.00 From Bretton Woods to ... Hazlitt , Henry Best Price : $ 12.00 Buy New $ 52.12 The Best of Thorsten Polleit

Governments and their central banks have put together mega–bailout packages. In the US, President Donald J. Trump has signed off on a $2 trillion “virus relief package” amounting to around 10 percent of the US gross domestic product. It is meant to provide massive financial support—in the form of loans, tax breaks, and direct payments—to large and small businesses as well as individuals whose revenue and income have been destroyed by the politically dictated “lockdown.”
What is more, the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) has provided a colossal “backstop” to financial markets. It injects ever higher amounts of central bank money into the financial system by buying up all sorts of credit instruments—not only government bonds, but also mortgage debt, corporate bonds, commercial papers, etc. The Fed thereby props up financial asset prices, keeping the cost of credit artificially low and, most importantly, avoids payment defaults on a grand scale.
In fact, the Fed is at the heart of all these rescue measures, for the US administration does not have the money to finance all its promises. The US Treasury will issue new bonds that will be bought by the Fed, which thereby creates new US dollar deposits in the hands of the US government. These are then transferred to the bank accounts of entrepreneurs, consumers, and most of all to government beneficiaries (its employees, service providers, and contractors). As a result, the newly created money shows up in people’s bank accounts, increasing the stock of money in the economy. The Causes of the Econ... von Mises, Ludwig Best Price: $15.65 Buy New $11.95 (as of 03:12 UTC - Details)
Beyond that, the Fed purchases credit instruments—bonds and bills (and perhaps even other assets at some stage). As it does business with banks, the Fed ramps up the central bank money supply to the interbank market: Banks hand credit papers over to the Fed in exchange for newly created central bank money deposits. As a result, the “excess reserves” of banks increase and credit risk is taken off their balance sheets. Equity capital is freed up and can be used to increase lending to corporates, consumers, and, of course, government entities. This also contributes to the increase in the outstanding money stock.
If and when the Fed purchases credit products from, say, hedge funds, mutual funds, and insurance companies, the quantity of money will also be increased: these market players will hand unwanted credit products over to the Fed in exchange for deposits held with commercial banks. These new money balances can, and most likely will, be used to purchase other assets (e.g., stocks, land, commodities, etc.).
It becomes obvious that the mega–bailout package will effectively result in an increase in the quantity of money in the economy. Sound economics tells us what the consequences are: the increase in the quantity of money will result in higher goods prices, thereby lowering the purchasing power of money. In other words: the mega–bailout package boils down to “money printing”—to an inflationary policy. Again, sound economic tells us that inflation is a policy redistributing income and wealth among people: it does not create a win-win situation; it creates winners and losers.
Those holding money will lose; their wealth will dwindle. And so will those holding bonds and bills denominated in the official currency. In contrast, those holding stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities, art, etc. may well benefit—if and when the prices of these assets increase as a result of the expansion of the outstanding money supply. Overstretched borrowers will also benefit, as their default is prevented and their careless creditors’ deserved losses are thus warded off.
Most importantly, banks, financial institutions, big business, Wall Street, the establishment, and the deep state will for sure rank among the beneficiaries of the Fed’s backstop policy. This amounts to a repetition of what happened during the crisis of 2008/2009, when the Fed bailed out the economic and financial system. This time, however, the costs will be higher—for it is very likely that people will see and feel its consequences—namely conspicuously rising goods prices. When Money Dies: The N... Adam Fergusson Best Price: $1.97 Buy New $10.08 (as of 10:10 UTC - Details)
The Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973) did capture what governments will do if and when they have access to the printing press very well. In early 1923, shortly before the scary hyperinflation took off in Germany, he finished the script for his essay “Stabilitsation of the Monetary Unit—from the Viewpoint of Theory” (“Die geldtheoretische Seite des Stabilisierungsproblems”). In it, Mises—clearsighted and foresighted as he was as an economist—anticipated the monetary disaster resulting from a central bank catering to the needs of a bankrupt policy. He wrote:
We have seen that if a government is not in a position to negotiate loans and does not dare levy additional taxation for fear that the financial and general economic effects will be revealed too clearly too soon so that it will lose support for its programme, it always considers it necessary to undertake inflationary measures. Thus inflation becomes one of the most important psychological aids to an economic policy that tries to camouflage its effects. In this sense, it may be described as a tool of anti-democratic policy. By deceiving public opinion, it permits a system of government to continue, which would have no hope of receiving the approval of the people if conditions were frankly explained to them.
Today, the policy of printing new money to hold up an economic and financial system that cannot last is being pursued again—as it has been in the past, on many occasions. The question is not whether money will lose its purchasing power. It is just a question of how much and how quickly. The best-case scenario is that the economic slump will be overcome quickly and, as a result, central banks will not have to monetize too much debt and issue too much newly created money.
What Has Government Do... Murray N. Rothbard Best Price: $7.04 Buy New $6.50 (as of 05:50 UTC - Details) But even then the underlying problem will not be solved; it will merely be postponed, because the government-controlled unbacked paper money system will predictably lead to ever greater amounts of debt on the part of entrepreneurs, consumers, and, most importantly, governments. At some point, debtors will no longer be in a position to service their debt. This is the point at which the unbacked paper money system collapses altogether through payment defaults, or when governments begin to issue ever greater amounts of money in a last-ditch effort to fend off the inevitable. That said, economies that have become addicted to unbacked money will, at some point, be confronted with a “recession-depression” à la 1929 or a German hyperinflation à la 1923.
Meanwhile, however, governments and central banks’ mega–bailout programs may very well succeed in keeping the artificial boom going—that is, in transposing the approaching economic and financial bust into yet another boom, thereby preventing the system from collapsing. One thing, however, is certain: the official currencies—be it the greenback, the euro, Chinese renminbi, or the Japanese yen—will most likely lose their purchasing power. The truth is that they have never been a reliable means to store wealth—and never will be.
—
Ludwig von Mises, The Causes of the Economic Crisis, and Other Essays before and after the Great Depression, ed. Percy L. Greaves Jr. (1978; Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2006), p. 38.
Note: The views expressed on Mises.org are not necessarily those of the Mises Institute.
Economic Depressions (... Murray N. Rothbard Best Price: $6.50 Buy New $6.00 (as of 06:35 UTC - Details) From Bretton Woods to ... Hazlitt, Henry Best Price: $12.00 Buy New $52.12 (as of 03:11 UTC - Details)
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