Managing the Narrative

Some Americans continue to believe that when they go to the internet they will get a free flow of useful information that will guide them in making decisions or coming to conclusions about the state of the world .
That conceit might have been true to an extent twenty years ago , but the growth and consolidation of corporate information management firms has instead limited access to material that it does not approve of , thereby successfully shaping the political and economic environment to conform with their own interests .
Facebook , Google and other news and social networking sites @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authorized to ban content and limit access by members .
This de facto censorship is particularly evident when using the internet information “ search ” sites themselves , a “ service ” that is dominated by Google .
Ron Unz has observed how when the CEO of Google Sundar Pichai faced congressional scrutiny on July 29th together with other high-tech executives , the questioning was hardly rigorous and no one even asked how the sites are regulated to promote certain information that is approved of while suppressing views or sources that are considered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” sites generally get a free pass from government scrutiny because they are useful to those who run the country from Washington and Wall Street .
That the internet is a national security issue was clearly demonstrated when the Barack Obama Administration sought to develop a switch that could be used to “ kill it ” in the event of a national crisis .
No politician or corporate chief executive wants to get on the bad side of Big Tech and find his or her name largely eliminated from online searches , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ frequently with negative connotations .
Active Measures : The S ...
Rid , Thomas Best Price : $ 18.48 Buy New $ 19.86 Google , for example , ranks the information that it displays so it can favor certain points of view and dismiss others .
Generally speaking , progressive sites are favored and conservative sites are relegated to the bottom of the search with the expectation that they will not be visited .
In late July , investigative journalists noted thatGoogle was apparently testing its technical ability to blacklist conservative media on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3.5 billion online searches every day , comprising 94 percent of internet searching .
Sites targeted and made to effectively disappear from results included NewsBusters , the Washington Free Beacon , The Blaze , Townhall , The Daily Wire , PragerU , LifeNews , Project Veritas , Judicial Watch , The Resurgent , Breitbart , Drudge , Unz , the Media Research Center and CNSNews .
All the sites affected are considered to be politically conservative and no progressive or liberal sites were included .
One has to suspect that the tech companies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regulators within the Trump administration to “ purge ” the internet , primarily by removing foreign competition both in hardware and software from countries like China .
This will give the ostensibly U.S. companies monopoly status and will also allow the government to have sufficient leverage to control the message .
If this process continues , the internet itself will become nationally or regionally controlled and will inevitably cease to be a vehicle for free exchange of views .
Recent steps taken by the U.S. to block Huawei 5G technology and also force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been explained as “ national security ” issues , but they are more likely designed to control aspects of the internet .
The Hacker and the Sta ... Buchanan , Ben Best Price : $ 15.90 Buy New $ 19.34 Washington is also again beating the familiar drum that Russia is interfering in American politics , with an eye on the upcoming election .
Last week saw the released of a 77 page report produced by the State Department ’ s Global Engagement Center ( GEC ) on Russian internet based news and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spreading disinformation and propaganda on behalf of the Kremlin .
It is entitled “ Understanding Russia ’ s Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem ” and has a lead paragraph asserting that “ Russia ’ s disinformation and propaganda ecosystem is the collection of official , proxy , and unattributed communication channels and platforms that Russia uses to create and amplify false narratives.
” Perhaps not surprisingly , The New York Times is hot on the trail of Russian malfeasance , describing the report and its conclusions in a lengthy article “ State Dept .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on August 5th .
The government report identifies a number of online sites that it claims are actively involved in the “ disinformation ” effort .
The Times article focuses on one site in particular , describing how “ The report states that the Strategic Culture Foundation [ website ] is directed by Russia ’ s foreign intelligence service , the S.V.R.
, and stands as ‘ a prime example of longstanding Russian tactics to conceal direct state involvement in disinformation and propaganda outlets.
’ The organization publishes a wide variety of fringe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while trying to obscure its Russian government sponsorship.
” It also quotes Lea Gabrielle , the GEC Director , who explained that “ The Kremlin bears direct responsibility for cultivating these tactics and platforms as part of its approach of using information and disinformation as a weapon.
” The Permanent Coup : Ho ... Smith , Lee Best Price : $ 19.95 Buy New $ 20.85 As Russia has been falsely accused of supporting the election of Donald Trump in 2016 and the existence of alternative news sites funded wholly or in part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facto an act of war , it is interesting to note the “ evidence ” that The Times provides based on its own investigation to suggest that Moscow is about to disrupt the upcoming election .
It is : “ Absent from the report is any mention of how one of the writers for the Strategic Culture Foundation weighed in this spring on a Democratic primary race in New York .
The writer , Michael Averko , published articles on the foundation ’ s website and in a local publication in Westchester County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a former Obama administration official who was running for Congress .
In recent weeks , the F.B.I .
questioned Mr. Averko about the Strategic Culture Foundation and its ties to Russia .
While those attacks did not have a decisive effect on the election , they showed Moscow ’ s continuing efforts to influence votes in the United States… ” Excuse me , but someone writing for an alternative website with relatively low readership criticizing a candidate for congress does not equate to the Kremlin ’ s interfering in an American election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Strategic Culture Foundation is a disinformation mechanism is overwrought .
Yes , the site is located in Moscow and it may have some government support but it features numerous American and European contributors in addition to Russians .
I have been writing for the site for nearly three years and I know many of the other Americans who also do so .
We are generally speaking antiwar and often critical of U.S. foreign policy but the contributors include conservatives like myself , libertarians and progressives and we write on all kinds of subjects @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Margolis , Matt Best Price : $ 12.00 Buy New $ 15.99 And here is the interesting part : not one of us has ever been told what to write .
Not one of us has ever even had a suggestion coming from Moscow on a good topic for an article .
Not one of us has ever had an article or headline changed or altered by an editor .
Putting on my ex-intelligence officer hat for a moment , that is no way to run an influencing or disinformation operation intended to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has a point of view on the upcoming election and its managed media outlets will reflect that bias but the sweeping allegations are nonsense , particularly in an election that will include billions of dollars in real disinformation coming from the Democratic and Republican parties .
Putting together what you no longer can find when you search the internet with government attempts to suppress alternative news sites one has to conclude that we Americans are in the middle of an information war .
Who controls the narrative controls the people , or so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ development , particularly at a time when no one knows whom to trust and what to believe .
How it will play out between now and the November election is anyone ’ s guess .
Reprinted with permission from The Unz Review .
The Best of Philip Giraldi

Some Americans continue to believe that when they go to the internet they will get a free flow of useful information that will guide them in making decisions or coming to conclusions about the state of the world. That conceit might have been true to an extent twenty years ago, but the growth and consolidation of corporate information management firms has instead limited access to material that it does not approve of, thereby successfully shaping the political and economic environment to conform with their own interests. Facebook, Google and other news and social networking sites now all have advisory panels that are authorized to ban content and limit access by members. This de facto censorship is particularly evident when using the internet information “search” sites themselves, a “service” that is dominated by Google. Ron Unz has observed how when the CEO of Google Sundar Pichai faced congressional scrutiny on July 29th together with other high-tech executives, the questioning was hardly rigorous and no one even asked how the sites are regulated to promote certain information that is approved of while suppressing views or sources that are considered to be undesirable.
The “information” sites generally get a free pass from government scrutiny because they are useful to those who run the country from Washington and Wall Street. That the internet is a national security issue was clearly demonstrated when the Barack Obama Administration sought to develop a switch that could be used to “kill it” in the event of a national crisis. No politician or corporate chief executive wants to get on the bad side of Big Tech and find his or her name largely eliminated from online searches, or, alternatively, coming up all too frequently with negative connotations. Active Measures: The S... Rid, Thomas Best Price: $18.48 Buy New $19.86 (as of 03:43 UTC - Details)
Google, for example, ranks the information that it displays so it can favor certain points of view and dismiss others. Generally speaking, progressive sites are favored and conservative sites are relegated to the bottom of the search with the expectation that they will not be visited. In late July, investigative journalists noted thatGoogle was apparently testing its technical ability to blacklist conservative media on its search engine which processes more than 3.5 billion online searches every day, comprising 94 percent of internet searching. Sites targeted and made to effectively disappear from results included NewsBusters, the Washington Free Beacon, The Blaze, Townhall, The Daily Wire, PragerU, LifeNews, Project Veritas, Judicial Watch, The Resurgent, Breitbart, Drudge, Unz, the Media Research Center and CNSNews. All the sites affected are considered to be politically conservative and no progressive or liberal sites were included.
One has to suspect that the tech companies like Google are working hand-in-hand with some regulators within the Trump administration to “purge” the internet, primarily by removing foreign competition both in hardware and software from countries like China. This will give the ostensibly U.S. companies monopoly status and will also allow the government to have sufficient leverage to control the message. If this process continues, the internet itself will become nationally or regionally controlled and will inevitably cease to be a vehicle for free exchange of views. Recent steps taken by the U.S. to block Huawei 5G technology and also force the sale of sites like TikTok have been explained as “national security” issues, but they are more likely designed to control aspects of the internet. The Hacker and the Sta... Buchanan, Ben Best Price: $15.90 Buy New $19.34 (as of 03:52 UTC - Details)
Washington is also again beating the familiar drum that Russia is interfering in American politics, with an eye on the upcoming election. Last week saw the released of a 77 page report produced by the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) on Russian internet based news and opinion sources that allegedly are guilty of spreading disinformation and propaganda on behalf of the Kremlin. It is entitled “Understanding Russia’s Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem” and has a lead paragraph asserting that “Russia’s disinformation and propaganda ecosystem is the collection of official, proxy, and unattributed communication channels and platforms that Russia uses to create and amplify false narratives.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, The New York Times is hot on the trail of Russian malfeasance, describing the report and its conclusions in a lengthy article “State Dept. Traces Russian Disinformation Links” that appeared on August 5th.
The government report identifies a number of online sites that it claims are actively involved in the “disinformation” effort. The Times article focuses on one site in particular, describing how “The report states that the Strategic Culture Foundation [website] is directed by Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the S.V.R., and stands as ‘a prime example of longstanding Russian tactics to conceal direct state involvement in disinformation and propaganda outlets.’ The organization publishes a wide variety of fringe voices and conspiracy theories in English, while trying to obscure its Russian government sponsorship.” It also quotes Lea Gabrielle, the GEC Director, who explained that “The Kremlin bears direct responsibility for cultivating these tactics and platforms as part of its approach of using information and disinformation as a weapon.” The Permanent Coup: Ho... Smith, Lee Best Price: $19.95 Buy New $20.85 (as of 03:52 UTC - Details)
As Russia has been falsely accused of supporting the election of Donald Trump in 2016 and the existence of alternative news sites funded wholly or in part by a foreign government is not ipso facto an act of war, it is interesting to note the “evidence” that The Times provides based on its own investigation to suggest that Moscow is about to disrupt the upcoming election. It is: “Absent from the report is any mention of how one of the writers for the Strategic Culture Foundation weighed in this spring on a Democratic primary race in New York. The writer, Michael Averko, published articles on the foundation’s website and in a local publication in Westchester County, N.Y., attacking Evelyn N. Farkas, a former Obama administration official who was running for Congress. In recent weeks, the F.B.I. questioned Mr. Averko about the Strategic Culture Foundation and its ties to Russia. While those attacks did not have a decisive effect on the election, they showed Moscow’s continuing efforts to influence votes in the United States…”
Excuse me, but someone writing for an alternative website with relatively low readership criticizing a candidate for congress does not equate to the Kremlin’s interfering in an American election. Also, the claim that the Strategic Culture Foundation is a disinformation mechanism is overwrought. Yes, the site is located in Moscow and it may have some government support but it features numerous American and European contributors in addition to Russians. I have been writing for the site for nearly three years and I know many of the other Americans who also do so. We are generally speaking antiwar and often critical of U.S. foreign policy but the contributors include conservatives like myself, libertarians and progressives and we write on all kinds of subjects. Airborne: How The Libe... Margolis, Matt Best Price: $12.00 Buy New $15.99 (as of 04:20 UTC - Details)
And here is the interesting part: not one of us has ever been told what to write. Not one of us has ever even had a suggestion coming from Moscow on a good topic for an article. Not one of us has ever had an article or headline changed or altered by an editor. Putting on my ex-intelligence officer hat for a moment, that is no way to run an influencing or disinformation operation intended to subvert an election. Sure, Russia has a point of view on the upcoming election and its managed media outlets will reflect that bias but the sweeping allegations are nonsense, particularly in an election that will include billions of dollars in real disinformation coming from the Democratic and Republican parties.
Putting together what you no longer can find when you search the internet with government attempts to suppress alternative news sites one has to conclude that we Americans are in the middle of an information war. Who controls the narrative controls the people, or so it seems. It is a dangerous development, particularly at a time when no one knows whom to trust and what to believe. How it will play out between now and the November election is anyone’s guess.
Reprinted with permission from The Unz Review.
The Best of Philip Giraldi


lewrockwell--2020-08-22--Unmask This Tyranny Coup – PODCAST

Unmask This Tyranny Coup – PODCAST

Gerald Celente is Founder/ Director of The Trends Research Institute .
The Trends Research Institute publishes The Trends Journal .
@ @ @ @ @ ... Paul , Ron Best Price : $ 1.27 Buy New $ 6.79 Anatomy of @ @ @ @ @ Price : $ 5.00 Buy New $ 5.82 Against the State : An ... Rockwell @ @ @ @ @ Price : $ 5.02 Buy New $ 5.52

August 21, 2020
https://www.lewrockwell.com/podcast/unmask-this-tyranny-coup/
Gerald Celente is Founder/ Director of The Trends Research Institute. The Trends Research Institute publishes The Trends Journal.
Gerald Celente: on YouTube
Gerald Celente: on Facebook
Gerald Celente: on Instagram
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Gerald Celente: on Linkedin
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Liberty Defined: 50 Es... Paul, Ron Best Price: $1.27 Buy New $6.79 (as of 07:10 UTC - Details) Anatomy of the State Murray Rothbard Best Price: $5.00 Buy New $5.82 (as of 05:45 UTC - Details) Against the State: An ... Rockwell Jr., Llewelly... Best Price: $5.02 Buy New $5.52 (as of 11:35 UTC - Details)


lewrockwell--2020-08-22--The Tyranny of Groupthink

The Tyranny of Groupthink

The broad market ( S & P 500 ) is trading at the highest forward PE multiples since November 1999 , but the financial press is rife with mendacious piffle claiming there is no bubble .
For example , in celebration of Tuesday ’ s all-time high on the S & P 500 , one James Mackintosh of the Wall Street Journal minced no words : Except , the Everything Bubble is in the imagination of the many investors complaining about it .
First , it isn ’ t everything .
Second , it isn ’ t a bubble… .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is true because energy sector stock prices are in the tank , but the market is being rationally led by the tech giants where allegedly solid prospects for earnings growth are being rewarded with higher PE multiples owing to ultra-low interest rates .
… .
Lower rates mean profits further in the future matter more to the share price , so companies with steady earnings no matter what the economy does are worth more .
Those that are sensitive to the economy are worth less , because future earnings are expected to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , because their future earnings are expected to be higher and , at least for those thought immune to economic weakness , worth more as well thanks to lower rates .
Groupthink : A Study in ... Booker , Christopher Best Price : $ 15.56 Buy New $ 15.58 Apply this framework and there ’ s no bubble .
U.S. stocks are more highly valued than in the past because they are dominated by big growth stocks , themselves justifiably more highly valued thanks to low rates .
The sheer laziness and conformism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a wonder to behold .
When the leader of the tech growth stocks , Apple , crossed the $ 2 trillion market cap barrier for the first time today , thereby embodying more market cap than the entire Russell 2000 of small cap US companies , Mackintosh ’ s colleague at the Wall Street Journal spewed the same groupthink : The stock has more than doubled from its March 23 low , boosted by steady demand for the company ’ s devices and better-than-feared results in its core iPhone business as millions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sales growth is driving the string of achievements .
Apple ’ s sales rose to $ 260 billion in the fiscal year ended in September from $ 216 billion three years prior .
The company has even grown sales during the pandemic : For the quarter ended in June , they rose 11 % from a year earlier to nearly $ 60 billion , exceeding Wall Street expectations .
Earnings surged to $ 11.25 billion .
The three-year sales gain cited by the WSJ amounted to only 6.4 % per annum , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Groupthink in Science : ... Best Price : $ 117.75 Buy New $ 65.19 That ’ s because the starting figure of $ 216 billion for Apple ’ s FY 2016 sales actually reflected a 7.8 % decline from sales of $ 234 billion in FY 2015 .
So the four-years growth rate of sales through FY 2019 was , well , a mere 2.67 % per annum .
Likewise , the 11 % sales gain during the June 2020 quarter versus prior year is completely misleading .
During the past four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been all over the lot , posting at 10.9 % , 1.0 % , 8.8 % and 1.8 % respectively .
Accordingly , for the LTM period ended in June , the sales gain was just 5.7 % – hardly a barn-burning growth figure .
Likewise , the purported June quarter earnings “ surge ” to $ 11.25 billion was nothing of the kind .
During the 2018 June quarter , for instance , net income posted higher at $ 11.52 billion .
The surging at issue , therefore , was one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only thing about Apple which has been in a growth mode during the last five years is the company ’ s PE multiple , which has essentially doubled from 14X to 35X at today ’ s record share price .
As to the actual 5-year trend of sales and earnings growth , not so much .
Back in June 2015 Apple was valued at $ 715 billion on the strength of its unparalleled tech product franchise , which was reflected in $ 224 billion of annual sales and $ 50.7 billion of LTM @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reason for the modest implied PE multiple of 14.1X : Namely , the tech behemoth ’ s growth rate was rapidly slowing – freighted down by the inherent limits embedded in its enormous scale and the then modest expectations for earnings expansion in the immediate years ahead .
Those modest expectations were accurate .
Five years later , the LTM figures for June 2020 came in at $ 273.9 billion of sales and $ 58.4 billion of net income .
Yes , the latter figure represents a lot of profits , but it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In fact , Apple ’ s five-year sales growth rate was just 4.1 % , while its net income growth rate clocked in at only 2.9 % per annum .
Moreover , there has been no recent growth spurt to accelerate these five-year trend rates of growth .
The two-year growth rates are even slower , with sales posting at 3.6 % per annum and net income rising by just 2.03 % per year .
Wiser : Getting Beyond ... Hastie , Reid Best Price : $ 1.07 Buy New $ 14.14 Needless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s PE multiple has nothing to do with its punk five-year net income growth rate of 2.9 % per annum ; it ’ s about the Fed ’ s radical repression of interest rate and the resulting diversion of trillions of borrowed capital into the inflation of risk asset capitalization rates .
Nor is Apple some kind of outlier , albeit it is the monster of the tech midway .
Overall , the so-called Fab Five ( Amazon , Apple , Microsoft , Facebook and Google ) reflect the same multiple inflation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pile driver that is pushing the heavily ETF and indexer-driven stock market up into the nosebleed section of history .
Thus , back in June 2014 , the Fab Five ’ s combined market cap weighed-in at $ 1.63 trillion and accounted for 9.5 % of the overall S & P 500 ’ s market cap of about $ 17.0 trillion .
Fast forward six years , and the Fab Five were valued at today ’ s close at $ 7.1 trillion , which accounts for 26 % of the $ 27.7 trillion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ P 500 .
So , yes , the term “ pile-driver ” is probably an understatement .
Fully 50 % of the S & P 500 ’ s $ 10.7 trillion market cap gain since June 2014 is attributable to the Fab Five .
At the same time , the combined net income of the Fab Five has risen from $ 76.3 billion to $ 170.7 billion , meaning that the already frisky PE multiple of 21.4X for the group as a whole in June 2014 has now stands at 42.0X .
Obviously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they do not lie .
The composite net income growth rate of the Fab Five “ growth stocks ” has been just 14.4 % over the past six years .
In a world which is literally unwinding at the seams owing to the Covid pandemic and a $ 260 trillion burden of debt , a valuation multiple equal to 42X or nearly three times the trailing growth rate makes no sense whatsoever .
That ’ s because the James Mackintosh groupthink cited above is marred with a mighty flaw .
To wit , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the indefinite future owing to today ’ s ultra-low interest rates that are definitely not sustainable .
The Fed ’ s policy of radical interest rate repression simply defies the laws of finance and common sense because real yields are negative , and in the long-run negative real yields are an oxymoron .
The chart below is the smoking gun .
Once upon a time there was meaningful daylight between the brown line ( nominal yield on the benchmark 10-year UST ) and the purple line ( running inflation rate measured by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That is , even so-called risk-free US Treasury debt had a real yield of 200-400 basis points to account for taxes and a real return on investment .
But after the final leap into monetary madness commencing with the financial crisis of 2008-2009 , the real yield had virtually disappeared ; and then after the massive $ 3 trillion Fed bond-buying spree commencing in mid-March , the benchmark security of the entire global fixed income market went deeply negative in real terms .
As of the latest month , the running inflation rate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) compared to an all-time low yield on the 10-year UST of 52 basis points a few weeks back .
Needless to say , when the real cost of risk-free benchmark debt is negative 175 basis points , you are not in an indefinitely sustainable steady state .
You are actually courting financial disaster .
That ’ s especially because fiscal policy in the US and elsewhere around the world has become completely unhinged .
So unless the Fed and other central banks continue their massive bond purchases in response to this tsunami @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are heading for a train-wreck some time soon ; and if the central banks continue to print at current lunatic rates , the monetary system itself will go into meltdown .
Still , the misbegotten idea that the stock market isn ’ t overvalued because bond prices have been massively inflated by central bank money-pumping is just one instance of the present tyranny of groupthink – called to attention by Apple ’ s crossing the $ 2 trillion market cap barrier .
In fact , groupthink is omnipresent in the the mainstream narrative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ belief that the Covid-lockdowns were necessary and effective and that the coronavirus can be stopped by brute-force economic and social regimentation is another case in point – underscored by a new analysis of the Swedish outcome .
The mainstream narrative , of course , is that Sweden ’ s no lockdown policy – the schools , restaurants , movies , gyms , malls etc .
remained open – was a disastrous failure , thereby vindicating the universal quarantine approach of Dr. Fauci , Governor Cuomo and the rest of the Blue State Virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the irrelevant observation that Sweden ’ s overall WITH-Covid mortality rate of 56 per 100,000 is far higher than that of Norway , Finland and Denmark .
The truth is , Sweden ’ s mortality rate happened in the long-term care facilities , where 75 % of the country ’ s 5,800 WITH-Covid deaths to date ( August 18 ) have occurred , and which is neither here nor there when it comes to lockdowns of the non-elderly population .
Fortunately , a breakdown of Sweden ’ s WITH-covid deaths by detailed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ puts the kibosh on Dr. Fauci ’ s Lockdown Nation folly .
Number of WITH-Covid deaths/ Population/Rate per 100,000 by age cohort : So , yes , Sweden has a WITH-Covid mortality rate of 56 per 100,000 for the entire country .
But 26 % of those deaths occurred among the population 90 years and older , which accounts for just 1.1 % of Sweden ’ s population .
Similarly , 67 % of the deaths were among the population 80 years and older and 93 % were among those aged 65 or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and older account for just 19 % of Sweden ’ s population , and the preponderant share of the latter , who have suffered serious illness or death from the Covid , were already in long-term care facilities and programs .
Nudge : Improving Decis ... Richard H. Thaler , Cas ... Best Price : $ 5.26 Buy New $ 9.75 Needless to say , locking down the schools , gyms , restaurants and malls does nothing for the institutionalized population of the vulnerable elderly and co-morbid .
Sheltering and treating the latter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ younger , healthier populations , is the self-evident answer .
Indeed , the virtue of Sweden ’ s anti-lockdown strategy virtually screams out from the schedule above .
Sweden did not close its schools , yet there has been just one WITH-Covid death among its 2.4 million school age children under 20 years .
Likewise , there have been just 71 deaths among its 4.0 million prime working and consuming age population ( age 20-49 ) .
That ’ s a rounding error mortality rate of 1.77 per 100,000. Who in their right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ based on such infinitesimal risks ?
Stated differently , the risk of death from Covid in Sweden has been 720X higher for the largely institutionalized 90 and over population compared to the prime working age group ( 20-49 years ) ; and has also been 157X higher for the entire population 65 and over than for prime workers and the population that is the preponderant patron of the social congregation sectors of the economy .
Fortunately , Sweden also has readily available data on normal , year-in-and-year-out mortality , which rate is about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But when you breakdown these normal mortality rates by age cohort and cause of death , the insanity of Lockdown Nation become all the more apparent .
Specifically , there are about 3,429 deaths per year in Sweden from auto crashes , falls , drownings , electrocutions , poisonings and other accidents , and these account for about 4 % of Sweden ’ s 2019 death total from all causes of 89,000 .
However , when you look at mortality rates per 100,000 from accidents alone , the starling result is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is far higher than from the Covid for the entire 8.4 million population under 65 years of age , and for the young and middle-aged decidedly so .
Mortality rates per 100,000 for accidents versus Covid and ratio of accident/Covid risk : In short , when the ordinary risk of death is 10-25X greater for accidents than from the Covid for the young and working population , you don ’ t shutdown the economy and the main avenues of social congregation .
Due to enlightened leadership by Sweden ’ s health professionals and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and now both new cases and WITH-Covid deaths have virtually disappeared .
And that ’ s to say nothing of the fact , that Sweden ’ s Q2 GDP decline of just 8.6 % was far better than the double digit declines in the US and most European countries , which imposed far more draconian lockdowns .
In America , by contrast , the tyranny of groupthink on the matter has become so great that college football and in-person college classes are being closed from coast-to-coast when the risk of serious illness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here , like in Sweden , is virtually nil .
The Best of David Stockman

The broad market (S&P 500) is trading at the highest forward PE multiples since November 1999, but the financial press is rife with mendacious piffle claiming there is no bubble. For example, in celebration of Tuesday’s all-time high on the S&P 500, one James Mackintosh of the Wall Street Journal minced no words:
Except, the Everything Bubble is in the imagination of the many investors complaining about it. First, it isn’t everything. Second, it isn’t a bubble….
Right. Supposedly, the above statement is true because energy sector stock prices are in the tank, but the market is being rationally led by the tech giants where allegedly solid prospects for earnings growth are being rewarded with higher PE multiples owing to ultra-low interest rates.
…. Lower rates mean profits further in the future matter more to the share price, so companies with steady earnings no matter what the economy does are worth more. Those that are sensitive to the economy are worth less, because future earnings are expected to be hit. Growth stocks do incredibly well, because their future earnings are expected to be higher and, at least for those thought immune to economic weakness, worth more as well thanks to lower rates. Groupthink: A Study in... Booker, Christopher Best Price: $15.56 Buy New $15.58 (as of 04:01 UTC - Details)
Apply this framework and there’s no bubble. U.S. stocks are more highly valued than in the past because they are dominated by big growth stocks, themselves justifiably more highly valued thanks to low rates.
The sheer laziness and conformism of today’s so-called financial journalists is a wonder to behold. When the leader of the tech growth stocks, Apple, crossed the $2 trillion market cap barrier for the first time today, thereby embodying more market cap than the entire Russell 2000 of small cap US companies, Mackintosh’s colleague at the Wall Street Journal spewed the same groupthink:
The stock has more than doubled from its March 23 low, boosted by steady demand for the company’s devices and better-than-feared results in its core iPhone business as millions of Americans work from home.
Steady sales growth is driving the string of achievements. Apple’s sales rose to $260 billion in the fiscal year ended in September from $216 billion three years prior. The company has even grown sales during the pandemic: For the quarter ended in June, they rose 11% from a year earlier to nearly $60 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations. Earnings surged to $11.25 billion.
Apple is not a growth stock. Period.
The three-year sales gain cited by the WSJ amounted to only 6.4% per annum, but also reflects what amounts to journalistic malpractice.
Groupthink in Science:... Best Price: $117.75 Buy New $65.19 (as of 04:01 UTC - Details) That’s because the starting figure of $216 billion for Apple’s FY 2016 sales actually reflected a 7.8% decline from sales of $234 billion in FY 2015. So the four-years growth rate of sales through FY 2019 was, well, a mere 2.67% per annum.
Likewise, the 11% sales gain during the June 2020 quarter versus prior year is completely misleading. During the past four quarters, the year-over-year sales gains have been all over the lot, posting at 10.9%, 1.0%, 8.8% and 1.8% respectively. Accordingly, for the LTM period ended in June, the sales gain was just 5.7% – hardly a barn-burning growth figure.
Likewise, the purported June quarter earnings “surge” to $11.25 billion was nothing of the kind. During the 2018 June quarter, for instance, net income posted higher at $11.52 billion. The surging at issue, therefore, was one of backward motion.
In fact, the only thing about Apple which has been in a growth mode during the last five years is the company’s PE multiple, which has essentially doubled from 14X to 35X at today’s record share price.
As to the actual 5-year trend of sales and earnings growth, not so much.
Back in June 2015 Apple was valued at $715 billion on the strength of its unparalleled tech product franchise, which was reflected in $224 billion of annual sales and $50.7 billion of LTM profits.
Still, there was a reason for the modest implied PE multiple of 14.1X: Namely, the tech behemoth’s growth rate was rapidly slowing – freighted down by the inherent limits embedded in its enormous scale and the then modest expectations for earnings expansion in the immediate years ahead.
Those modest expectations were accurate. Five years later, the LTM figures for June 2020 came in at $273.9 billion of sales and $58.4 billion of net income.
Yes, the latter figure represents a lot of profits, but it embodies hardly a modicum of growth. In fact, Apple’s five-year sales growth rate was just 4.1%, while its net income growth rate clocked in at only 2.9% per annum.
Moreover, there has been no recent growth spurt to accelerate these five-year trend rates of growth. The two-year growth rates are even slower, with sales posting at 3.6% per annum and net income rising by just 2.03% per year. Wiser: Getting Beyond ... Hastie, Reid Best Price: $1.07 Buy New $14.14 (as of 04:01 UTC - Details)
Needless to say, the doubling of Apple’s PE multiple has nothing to do with its punk five-year net income growth rate of 2.9% per annum; it’s about the Fed’s radical repression of interest rate and the resulting diversion of trillions of borrowed capital into the inflation of risk asset capitalization rates.
Nor is Apple some kind of outlier, albeit it is the monster of the tech midway. Overall, the so-called Fab Five (Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Google) reflect the same multiple inflation story; and they are obviously the pile driver that is pushing the heavily ETF and indexer-driven stock market up into the nosebleed section of history.
Thus, back in June 2014, the Fab Five’s combined market cap weighed-in at $1.63 trillion and accounted for 9.5% of the overall S&P 500’s market cap of about $17.0 trillion.
Fast forward six years, and the Fab Five were valued at today’s close at $7.1 trillion, which accounts for 26% of the $27.7 trillion total market cap of the S&P 500.
So, yes, the term “pile-driver” is probably an understatement. Fully 50% of the S&P 500’s $10.7 trillion market cap gain since June 2014 is attributable to the Fab Five.
At the same time, the combined net income of the Fab Five has risen from $76.3 billion to $170.7 billion, meaning that the already frisky PE multiple of 21.4X for the group as a whole in June 2014 has now stands at 42.0X.
Obviously, averages can be misleading, but they do not lie. The composite net income growth rate of the Fab Five “growth stocks” has been just 14.4% over the past six years.
In a world which is literally unwinding at the seams owing to the Covid pandemic and a $260 trillion burden of debt, a valuation multiple equal to 42X or nearly three times the trailing growth rate makes no sense whatsoever.
That’s because the James Mackintosh groupthink cited above is marred with a mighty flaw. To wit, you can’t value earnings into the indefinite future owing to today’s ultra-low interest rates that are definitely not sustainable.
The Fed’s policy of radical interest rate repression simply defies the laws of finance and common sense because real yields are negative, and in the long-run negative real yields are an oxymoron.
The chart below is the smoking gun. Once upon a time there was meaningful daylight between the brown line (nominal yield on the benchmark 10-year UST) and the purple line (running inflation rate measured by the 16% trimmed mean CPI).
That is, even so-called risk-free US Treasury debt had a real yield of 200-400 basis points to account for taxes and a real return on investment.
But after the final leap into monetary madness commencing with the financial crisis of 2008-2009, the real yield had virtually disappeared; and then after the massive $3 trillion Fed bond-buying spree commencing in mid-March, the benchmark security of the entire global fixed income market went deeply negative in real terms.
As of the latest month, the running inflation rate clocked-in at 2.27% (June LTM) compared to an all-time low yield on the 10-year UST of 52 basis points a few weeks back.
Needless to say, when the real cost of risk-free benchmark debt is negative 175 basis points, you are not in an indefinitely sustainable steady state. You are actually courting financial disaster.
That’s especially because fiscal policy in the US and elsewhere around the world has become completely unhinged.
So unless the Fed and other central banks continue their massive bond purchases in response to this tsunami of public debt, the bond pits are heading for a train-wreck some time soon; and if the central banks continue to print at current lunatic rates, the monetary system itself will go into meltdown.
Still, the misbegotten idea that the stock market isn’t overvalued because bond prices have been massively inflated by central bank money-pumping is just one instance of the present tyranny of groupthink – called to attention by Apple’s crossing the $2 trillion market cap barrier.
In fact, groupthink is omnipresent in the the mainstream narrative and so-called news. The nearly universal belief that the Covid-lockdowns were necessary and effective and that the coronavirus can be stopped by brute-force economic and social regimentation is another case in point – underscored by a new analysis of the Swedish outcome.
The mainstream narrative, of course, is that Sweden’s no lockdown policy – the schools, restaurants, movies, gyms, malls etc. remained open – was a disastrous failure, thereby vindicating the universal quarantine approach of Dr. Fauci, Governor Cuomo and the rest of the Blue State Virus Patrol.
But that’s based on the irrelevant observation that Sweden’s overall WITH-Covid mortality rate of 56 per 100,000 is far higher than that of Norway, Finland and Denmark.
The truth is, Sweden’s mortality rate happened in the long-term care facilities, where 75% of the country’s 5,800 WITH-Covid deaths to date (August 18) have occurred, and which is neither here nor there when it comes to lockdowns of the non-elderly population.
Fortunately, a breakdown of Sweden’s WITH-covid deaths by detailed age brackets is readily available and it puts the kibosh on Dr. Fauci’s Lockdown Nation folly.
Number of WITH-Covid deaths/ Population/Rate per 100,000 by age cohort:
0-9 years: 1/1.22 million/ 0.08 per 100,000;
per 100,000; 10-19 years: 0/1.19 million/ 0.0 per 100,000;
per 100,000; 20-29: 10/1.31 million/ 0.77 per 100,000;
per 100,000; 30-39 years: 16/1.37 million/ 1.16 per 100,000;
per 100,000; 40-49 years: 45/1.31 million/ 3.42 per 100,000;
per 100,000; 50-59 years: 162/1.27 million/ 12.8 per 100,000;
per 100,000; 60-69 years: 398/1.14 million/ 34.8 per 100,000;
per 100,000; 70-79 years: 1,250/.917 million/ 128.7 per 100,000;
per 100,000; 80-90 years: 2,408/.425 million/ 567.0 per 100,000;
per 100,000; 90 years plus: 1,512/.119 million/ 1,271.0 per 100,000.
So, yes, Sweden has a WITH-Covid mortality rate of 56 per 100,000 for the entire country. But 26% of those deaths occurred among the population 90 years and older, which accounts for just 1.1% of Sweden’s population.
Similarly, 67% of the deaths were among the population 80 years and older and 93% were among those aged 65 or more. By contrast, persons 65 and older account for just 19% of Sweden’s population, and the preponderant share of the latter, who have suffered serious illness or death from the Covid, were already in long-term care facilities and programs. Nudge: Improving Decis... Richard H. Thaler, Cas... Best Price: $5.26 Buy New $9.75 (as of 09:25 UTC - Details)
Needless to say, locking down the schools, gyms, restaurants and malls does nothing for the institutionalized population of the vulnerable elderly and co-morbid. Sheltering and treating the latter in place, rather than quarantining the younger, healthier populations, is the self-evident answer.
Indeed, the virtue of Sweden’s anti-lockdown strategy virtually screams out from the schedule above. Sweden did not close its schools, yet there has been just one WITH-Covid death among its 2.4 million school age children under 20 years.
Likewise, there have been just 71 deaths among its 4.0 million prime working and consuming age population (age 20-49). That’s a rounding error mortality rate of 1.77 per 100,000. Who in their right mind would want to shutdown the economy based on such infinitesimal risks?
Stated differently, the risk of death from Covid in Sweden has been 720X higher for the largely institutionalized 90 and over population compared to the prime working age group (20-49 years); and has also been 157X higher for the entire population 65 and over than for prime workers and the population that is the preponderant patron of the social congregation sectors of the economy.
Fortunately, Sweden also has readily available data on normal, year-in-and-year-out mortality, which rate is about 862 per 100,000 for the total population. But when you breakdown these normal mortality rates by age cohort and cause of death, the insanity of Lockdown Nation become all the more apparent.
Specifically, there are about 3,429 deaths per year in Sweden from auto crashes, falls, drownings, electrocutions, poisonings and other accidents, and these account for about 4% of Sweden’s 2019 death total from all causes of 89,000.
However, when you look at mortality rates per 100,000 from accidents alone, the starling result is that the existing risk of death from accidents is far higher than from the Covid for the entire 8.4 million population under 65 years of age, and for the young and middle-aged decidedly so.
Mortality rates per 100,000 for accidents versus Covid and ratio of accident/Covid risk:
0-14 years; 1.38 versus 0.06=25X;
15-44 years: 12.3 versus 1.2=10X;
45-64 years: 20.6 versus 15.4=1.34X;
65 years & older: 115 versus 257=0.45X.
In short, when the ordinary risk of death is 10-25X greater for accidents than from the Covid for the young and working population, you don’t shutdown the economy and the main avenues of social congregation.
Due to enlightened leadership by Sweden’s health professionals and leading epidemiologists, they got it right, and now both new cases and WITH-Covid deaths have virtually disappeared.
And that’s to say nothing of the fact, that Sweden’s Q2 GDP decline of just 8.6% was far better than the double digit declines in the US and most European countries, which imposed far more draconian lockdowns.
In America, by contrast, the tyranny of groupthink on the matter has become so great that college football and in-person college classes are being closed from coast-to-coast when the risk of serious illness or death among the college age population here, like in Sweden, is virtually nil.
PEAK TRUMP, IMPENDING CRISES, ESSENTIAL INFO & ACTION
Reprinted with permission from David Stockman’s Contra Corner.
The Best of David Stockman


lewrockwell--2020-08-22--The Economic Insanity of This Coronavirus Pandemic Plot and the Coming Global Reset

“ Economic globalization creates wealth , but only for the elite who benefit from the surge of consolidations , mergers , global scale technology , and financial activity.
” Anita Roddick ( 2001 ) .
“ Take It Personally : How to Make Conscious Choices to Change the World ” , Harper Thorsons The most dynamic aspect of the economic paradigm of the United States over the past century has been the mass transfer of wealth to the few , and the new ruling society created due to this shift .
It was not pure capitalism that caused this phenomenon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ capitalism and free markets , which could be characterized as a fascist , protectionist oligarchy created by blending the banking , corporate , and political classes on one side , and the rest of society on the other .
This tremendous transfer of wealth brought with it excessive corruption and tyranny , and allowed for chaos due to the new and more pronounced class distinctions .
Current unemployment according to John Williams at Shadowstats is 30 % , and this equates to well over 40 million people , and I believe it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 158 million in the American workforce , so with nearly a third of the population now out of work , the future implications are deadly .
The ruler ’ s plan for this fall and winter is to vastly increase the fear and panic by claiming a huge second wave of this ‘ virus , ’ and this will be easily accomplished due to the fact that the entire population of this country has been weakened dramatically due to isolation , job loss , quarantine , mask wearing , and continued stress .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and this flu season will be used to advance the propaganda that is already at ludicrous levels .
When that happens , more isolation , enforceable mandates , lockdown , increased business closures , and more will cause increased additional harm ; more than has occurred to date .
The split in society will continue to widen , and the civil unrest will worsen throughout the fall and winter .
The near elimination of the middle class caused by this government response policy , brings with it a society much easier to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the main objective all along , as separating society into two classes , one wealthy and one not , a power shift of epoch proportion was the result .
Considering the state response to this purposely created coronavirus pandemic , it seems the desire was to finish off small and medium businesses , create mass unemployment , push large numbers of working people into poverty , so as to not only break the spirit of the American populace , but to create a new society of dependency .
This of course is meant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ control .
For the ruling class to be able to advance such a grand scheme of wealth transfers and power , destruction of the current system is necessary .
It can not seem obvious to the masses , or at least it has to be made to seem much more complicated than it really is , and that is exactly what happened .
The tactics used by the central banks and their corporate and government accomplices , were meant to gain great wealth while eliminating any economic freedom for most of the people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ markets , killing any incentive to save , vastly increasing the money supply in favor of the wealthy , and creating a debt based economy that would eventually drain the middle class of its provisions for the future .
By lowering interest rates to zero , printing unheard of amounts of money out of thin air , and justifying these policies by claiming to ‘ stimulate ’ the economy , the herd continued to applaud the efforts of their future slave masters .
The stock market was used as the only economic indicator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proven to be nothing more than a counterfeit and deceptive manipulation .
Today , this country and most others are effectively bankrupt , and that was the plan all along .
Debt levels are beyond the imagination of all except a few that understand the scope of this treacherous plot .
Real money is almost non-existent , as the fiat monetary order has consumed the entirety of the banking system worldwide .
This has laid the groundwork for the deliberate demolition of the world economy in favor of a technocratic and digital age @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the coronavirus fraud , and its ability to act as cover for those responsible for the bankrupting of society .
All this economic carnage will be blamed on a fake virus , and at this point , the people have no idea what really happened .
The ruling banksters , their corporate comrades , and the puppet politicians have caused this coming economic collapse , but they will never be blamed .
The rest of us will soon see the results of this masterful plot , but by then it will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lost .
One might say that this explanation is far-fetched or something out of science fiction , but is it really that difficult to comprehend ?
There is always a method to state madness , and it is normally sinister in nature .
The economic condition of the United States , as well as most of the rest of the world , is not now based on growth and progress due to an entrepreneurial spirit , free markets , and monetary stability , but is based on debt and consumption .
This change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ designed , initiated , and implemented over time in order to change the core of society so as to create a new economic system .
By the end of this next planned phase of the ‘ virus ’ scare , a global reset of the world economy will be ready to launch .
This reset will be mammoth in scope , as everything we have known will be restructured .
Economies worldwide will fail due to the destruction of businesses and money .
This was going to happen regardless of this pandemic , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the excuse to go forward .
This will not just be an economic reset however , it will be much more broad in reach than that , and will affect every aspect of life .
The monetary system will be restructured , and a fully monitored digital system will emerge .
Those out of work in the final stage will most likely stay out of work , pushing the dependency state to new levels sought by the ruling class .
Population control measures will steadily increase , and forced RNA vaccination will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ humans .
Controlling the population will be a key component of the plan , including population size , birth rates , movement , and personal contact among individuals .
The elimination of normal human interaction is sought , and this is only the beginning .
As conditioning of the herd reaches new levels , and more voluntarily choose to go along , the ‘ new normal ’ will continue to change to suit the new narrative .
If enough do not comply with this reset , if too many are resistant , there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bio-weapon release in order to bring about the final wave of fear in order to finish the reset agenda .
The ultimate goal is total control , and every tool in the box of the tyrants will be used to gain that control .
Restraint by the ruling class will be non-existent , as this staged reset is now going forward at a very accelerated pace .
For this to be successful , the reengineering of humanity is necessary , and that can never be allowed to happen , for if it does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human spirit .
The Best of Gary D. Barnett

“Economic globalization creates wealth, but only for the elite who benefit from the surge of consolidations, mergers, global scale technology, and financial activity.”
Anita Roddick (2001). “Take It Personally: How to Make Conscious Choices to Change the World”, Harper Thorsons
The most dynamic aspect of the economic paradigm of the United States over the past century has been the mass transfer of wealth to the few, and the new ruling society created due to this shift. It was not pure capitalism that caused this phenomenon; it was the lack of real capitalism and free markets, which could be characterized as a fascist, protectionist oligarchy created by blending the banking, corporate, and political classes on one side, and the rest of society on the other. This tremendous transfer of wealth brought with it excessive corruption and tyranny, and allowed for chaos due to the new and more pronounced class distinctions.
Current unemployment according to John Williams at Shadowstats is 30%, and this equates to well over 40 million people, and I believe it is actually much higher. There are approximately 158 million in the American workforce, so with nearly a third of the population now out of work, the future implications are deadly. The ruler’s plan for this fall and winter is to vastly increase the fear and panic by claiming a huge second wave of this ‘virus,’ and this will be easily accomplished due to the fact that the entire population of this country has been weakened dramatically due to isolation, job loss, quarantine, mask wearing, and continued stress. Immune systems in this country are shot, and this flu season will be used to advance the propaganda that is already at ludicrous levels. When that happens, more isolation, enforceable mandates, lockdown, increased business closures, and more will cause increased additional harm; more than has occurred to date. The split in society will continue to widen, and the civil unrest will worsen throughout the fall and winter. Take It Personally: Ho... Roddick, Anita Best Price: $1.98 Buy New $9.63 (as of 03:09 UTC - Details)
The near elimination of the middle class caused by this government response policy, brings with it a society much easier to control from the top. That was the main objective all along, as separating society into two classes, one wealthy and one not, a power shift of epoch proportion was the result. Considering the state response to this purposely created coronavirus pandemic, it seems the desire was to finish off small and medium businesses, create mass unemployment, push large numbers of working people into poverty, so as to not only break the spirit of the American populace, but to create a new society of dependency. This of course is meant to clear a path to total population control.
For the ruling class to be able to advance such a grand scheme of wealth transfers and power, destruction of the current system is necessary. It cannot seem obvious to the masses, or at least it has to be made to seem much more complicated than it really is, and that is exactly what happened. The tactics used by the central banks and their corporate and government accomplices, were meant to gain great wealth while eliminating any economic freedom for most of the people. This was done by destroying free markets, killing any incentive to save, vastly increasing the money supply in favor of the wealthy, and creating a debt based economy that would eventually drain the middle class of its provisions for the future. By lowering interest rates to zero, printing unheard of amounts of money out of thin air, and justifying these policies by claiming to ‘stimulate’ the economy, the herd continued to applaud the efforts of their future slave masters. The stock market was used as the only economic indicator, and of course that market has proven to be nothing more than a counterfeit and deceptive manipulation. Body and Soul: Profits... Roddick, Anita Best Price: $7.73 Buy New $41.99 (as of 03:09 UTC - Details)
Today, this country and most others are effectively bankrupt, and that was the plan all along. Debt levels are beyond the imagination of all except a few that understand the scope of this treacherous plot. Real money is almost non-existent, as the fiat monetary order has consumed the entirety of the banking system worldwide. This has laid the groundwork for the deliberate demolition of the world economy in favor of a technocratic and digital age of personal and monetary control. Hence, the coronavirus fraud, and its ability to act as cover for those responsible for the bankrupting of society. All this economic carnage will be blamed on a fake virus, and at this point, the people have no idea what really happened. The ruling banksters, their corporate comrades, and the puppet politicians have caused this coming economic collapse, but they will never be blamed. The rest of us will soon see the results of this masterful plot, but by then it will be too late to resurrect what has been lost.
One might say that this explanation is far-fetched or something out of science fiction, but is it really that difficult to comprehend? There is always a method to state madness, and it is normally sinister in nature. The economic condition of the United States, as well as most of the rest of the world, is not now based on growth and progress due to an entrepreneurial spirit, free markets, and monetary stability, but is based on debt and consumption. This change did not occur naturally, but was designed, initiated, and implemented over time in order to change the core of society so as to create a new economic system. Gods of Money: Wall St... Engdahl, F. William Best Price: $8.98 Buy New $29.95 (as of 03:42 UTC - Details)
By the end of this next planned phase of the ‘virus’ scare, a global reset of the world economy will be ready to launch. This reset will be mammoth in scope, as everything we have known will be restructured. Economies worldwide will fail due to the destruction of businesses and money. This was going to happen regardless of this pandemic, but the pandemic will be used as the excuse to go forward. This will not just be an economic reset however, it will be much more broad in reach than that, and will affect every aspect of life. The monetary system will be restructured, and a fully monitored digital system will emerge. Those out of work in the final stage will most likely stay out of work, pushing the dependency state to new levels sought by the ruling class. Population control measures will steadily increase, and forced RNA vaccination will be used to alter the DNA structure of humans. Controlling the population will be a key component of the plan, including population size, birth rates, movement, and personal contact among individuals. The elimination of normal human interaction is sought, and this is only the beginning.
As conditioning of the herd reaches new levels, and more voluntarily choose to go along, the ‘new normal’ will continue to change to suit the new narrative. If enough do not comply with this reset, if too many are resistant, there is always a possibility of a real bio-weapon release in order to bring about the final wave of fear in order to finish the reset agenda. The ultimate goal is total control, and every tool in the box of the tyrants will be used to gain that control. Restraint by the ruling class will be non-existent, as this staged reset is now going forward at a very accelerated pace.
For this to be successful, the reengineering of humanity is necessary, and that can never be allowed to happen, for if it does, it means the end of the human spirit.
Unleashing Usury: How ... Westra, Richard Best Price: $12.61 Buy New $24.95 (as of 03:15 UTC - Details) 1%. The book that the... Sharratt, Robert Best Price: $9.93 Buy New $8.99 (as of 02:53 UTC - Details) It Takes a Pillage: An... Prins, Nomi Best Price: $5.11 Buy New $14.95 (as of 05:02 UTC - Details) Technocracy Rising: Th... Wood, Patrick M. Best Price: $30.00 Buy New $24.00 (as of 07:16 UTC - Details)
The Best of Gary D. Barnett


lewrockwell--2020-08-22--Lockdowns Kill, Exhibit Z

Lockdowns Kill, Exhibit Z

The side effects of the lockdowns keep getting harder to ignore .
Dr. Brian Stauffer is head of cardiology at Denver Health .
He and his colleagues wanted to figure out why the number of people arriving at the hospital suffering from cardiac arrest had plummeted in recent months .
Surely , dear reader , you know where this is going .
The Invisible Enemy Garrett , Mr. Gregory L ... Buy New $ 26.94 According to the Colorado Sun : Looking at data on ambulance calls in Denver , they found that , while overall calls for service went @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of people dying from cardiac arrests at home shot up .
Stauffer ’ s team found that cardiac arrests at home in Denver more than doubled in the two weeks after the statewide stay-at-home order was issued compared with historical averages .
Even compared with more recent data , the weekly average of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests jumped to 46 during those two weeks , versus 26 or 27 in the three months prior .
Stauffer and his colleagues found that the number of people in Denver who died of cardiac arrests at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statewide stay-at-home order was greater than the total number of people who died of COVID-19 in the city during that time .
Oh , but “ listen to the science , ” everybody !
According to the “ listen to the science ” crowd , “ science ” demands lockdowns .
Apart from the zero connection between lockdowns and health outcomes , the bigger issue is this : “ science ” doesn ’ t tell you how you should decide between pouring all resources into COVID-19 while leaving horrific wreckage — including massive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It is rank superstition to think “ the science ” could possibly — or is even intended to — answer a question like this .
Thinking , Fast and Slow Daniel Kahneman Best Price : $ 3.95 Buy New $ 8.01 Science can inform our decision-making , naturally , but it obviously can ’ t tell us what we should value or how we should prioritize our various goals .
Not to mention : these days “ the science ” seems to be all about pretending there are no trade-offs , no competing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the schools , and the day before that about the massive spike in suicidal ideation among the youth .
The wreckage keeps piling up , and our leaders obviously have no idea what the endgame is .
What else can we do after all this fact-free nonsense except live , and ignore these people as much as we can ?
If that sounds good to you , join me in my community of normal people , for learning and camaraderie : The Best of Tom Woods

Shop all books by Tom Woods
From the Tom Woods Letter:
The side effects of the lockdowns keep getting harder to ignore.
Dr. Brian Stauffer is head of cardiology at Denver Health. He and his colleagues wanted to figure out why the number of people arriving at the hospital suffering from cardiac arrest had plummeted in recent months.
Surely, dear reader, you know where this is going.
The Invisible Enemy Garrett, Mr. Gregory L... Buy New $26.94 (as of 05:21 UTC - Details) According to the Colorado Sun:
Looking at data on ambulance calls in Denver, they found that, while overall calls for service went down during the stay-at-home period, the number of people dying from cardiac arrests at home shot up.
Stauffer’s team found that cardiac arrests at home in Denver more than doubled in the two weeks after the statewide stay-at-home order was issued compared with historical averages. Even compared with more recent data, the weekly average of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests jumped to 46 during those two weeks, versus 26 or 27 in the three months prior.
Stauffer and his colleagues found that the number of people in Denver who died of cardiac arrests at home in the two weeks following the statewide stay-at-home order was greater than the total number of people who died of COVID-19 in the city during that time.
Oh, but “listen to the science,” everybody!
According to the “listen to the science” crowd, “science” demands lockdowns. Apart from the zero connection between lockdowns and health outcomes, the bigger issue is this: “science” doesn’t tell you how you should decide between pouring all resources into COVID-19 while leaving horrific wreckage — including massive loss of life — everywhere else.
It is rank superstition to think “the science” could possibly — or is even intended to — answer a question like this. Thinking, Fast and Slow Daniel Kahneman Best Price: $3.95 Buy New $8.01 (as of 09:05 UTC - Details)
Science can inform our decision-making, naturally, but it obviously can’t tell us what we should value or how we should prioritize our various goals.
Not to mention: these days “the science” seems to be all about pretending there are no trade-offs, no competing goals.
Yesterday I wrote to you about the schools, and the day before that about the massive spike in suicidal ideation among the youth.
The wreckage keeps piling up, and our leaders obviously have no idea what the endgame is.
What else can we do after all this fact-free nonsense except live, and ignore these people as much as we can?
If that sounds good to you, join me in my community of normal people, for learning and camaraderie:
http://www.SupportingListeners.com
The Best of Tom Woods


Masks!

You can legitimately argue that masks aren ’ t good for the wearer and , in real-life use , do little or nothing to protect others from COVID-19 or for that matter , any virus .
Although , since The Establishment increasingly censors that sort of information it becomes more difficult , you can still show science to back you up .
If you have an infection , viral or otherwise , the masks cause you to rebreath it — and it cuts down the amount of oxygen you inhale .
On the other hand , you can also intuitively @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in protecting others from your coughs and sneezes , especially if you aren ’ t in the habit of covering your nose and mouth appropriately .
Unfortunately so far , there are no scientific studies to back up the efficacy of even the vaunted P95 mask in real-life use against a virus .
And so far , as an individual citizen , despite those “ Executive Orders ” you don ’ t have to wear a mask .
And if you run a business , there ’ s this – – - Tell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 15.99 That makes individual mask use either a matter of personal preference or a test of obedience .
Which is it for you ?
And suppose THE VIRUS isn ’ t as dangerous as we ’ ve been led to believe by the Main Stream narratives ?
Unfortunately in the case of one tough-cookie , the choice was to wear a mask to avoid being assaulted by misguided mask-wearers .
On the other hand , it ’ s apparently more dangerous to tell someone to wear a mask than to go maskless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Media — and The Establishment — try mightily to ignore and downplay it , massive demonstrations against mask wearing have broken out all over , especially in Europe .
Particularly Germany ( 17,000 ) , England , Spain , Belgium etc .
There ’ s another rarely recognized down-side to masks : they eliminate most of the 60 % -plus of the non-verbal communication we humans count on so heavily .
The Back-woods-philosopher — big , burly , and a little intimidating — regularly puts folks at ease with his “ teddy-bear-smile ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can ’ t do that with a mask in place .
This is even more critical for those who count on lip-reading .
And many folks have more serious problems with mask wearing — other than the problem of giving me Night Of The Living Dead nightmares when I see legions of masked and deadened folks wandering the aisles of Wally*World .
Since they reduce oxygen intake , there are the obvious problems such as COPD .
And there are often related psychological problems like panic attacks , etc .
None the less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ healthy , are they good for us ?
See , there ’ s a bright-side to masks : Just as Artificial Intelligence has reduced the falsing rate to a level Authorities are beginning to accept , masks screw-up facial recognition .
With CCTV video cams everywhere , total tracking of individuals , as in the Chinese system , is becoming increasingly practical if totally unacceptable to most rational humans .
If you think such tracking a good idea , you can stop reading right now and ban me .
As a long-term freedom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of course unalterably opposed to mandatory masks .
However voluntary masks — as a sign of resistance and/or as a fashion statement — strongly appeal to me .
For obvious anti AI facial recognition , regimentation and control reasons , it would be very good for us if mask-wearing became an ambiguous social tradition .
The Case Against Masks ... Heckenlively , Kent Buy New $ 12.99 Previous to COVID-19 , The Establishment reflex has been to ban masks — even burqas in France — so they can recognize you .
If masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ banning becomes very difficult .
And of course , all sorts of masks are acceptable .
Maybe P95 look-alikes to blend in .
I have an old Rebel Flag bandanna – – – And no , that doesn ’ t make me a racist , just a rebel .
The thing is , wearing a mask — or cammy face-paint — before COVID-19 would draw more heat than a Donald Trump tweet .
But with face masks the norm , we ’ re all better protected .
Maybe not from THE VIRUS , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – – “ As Americans we must always remember that we all have a common enemy , an enemy that is dangerous , powerful , and relentless .
I refer , of course , to the federal government.
” — Columnist Dave Barry So , if the maskers manage to establish mask-wearing as normal — and maybe even stylish — aside from my Night of the Living Dead nightmares , it isn ’ t all bad .
But are you wearing your mask as a personal choice — or as proof of obedience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comments , and corrections .
AND , “ Like , ” “ Tweet , ” and otherwise , pass this along !
The Best of L. Reichard White

You can legitimately argue that masks aren’t good for the wearer and, in real-life use, do little or nothing to protect others from COVID-19 or for that matter, any virus. Although, since The Establishment increasingly censors that sort of information it becomes more difficult, you can still show science to back you up.
If you have an infection, viral or otherwise, the masks cause you to rebreath it — and it cuts down the amount of oxygen you inhale.
On the other hand, you can also intuitively argue that masks may have some value in protecting others from your coughs and sneezes, especially if you aren’t in the habit of covering your nose and mouth appropriately. Unfortunately so far, there are no scientific studies to back up the efficacy of even the vaunted P95 mask in real-life use against a virus.
And so far, as an individual citizen, despite those “Executive Orders” you don’t have to wear a mask. And if you run a business, there’s this – – - Tell Anti Maskers It S... Buy New $15.99 (as of 04:15 UTC - Details)
That makes individual mask use either a matter of personal preference or a test of obedience. Which is it for you?
And suppose THE VIRUS isn’t as dangerous as we’ve been led to believe by the Main Stream narratives?
Unfortunately in the case of one tough-cookie, the choice was to wear a mask to avoid being assaulted by misguided mask-wearers. On the other hand, it’s apparently more dangerous to tell someone to wear a mask than to go maskless!
In fact, though the Main-Stream Media — and The Establishment — try mightily to ignore and downplay it, massive demonstrations against mask wearing have broken out all over, especially in Europe. Particularly Germany (17,000), England, Spain, Belgium etc.
There’s another rarely recognized down-side to masks: they eliminate most of the 60%-plus of the non-verbal communication we humans count on so heavily. The Back-woods-philosopher — big, burly, and a little intimidating — regularly puts folks at ease with his “teddy-bear-smile” as he calls it — but obviously can’t do that with a mask in place. This is even more critical for those who count on lip-reading.
And many folks have more serious problems with mask wearing — other than the problem of giving me Night Of The Living Dead nightmares when I see legions of masked and deadened folks wandering the aisles of Wally*World.
Since they reduce oxygen intake, there are the obvious problems such as COPD. And there are often related psychological problems like panic attacks, etc.
None the less, even though masks may not be healthy, are they good for us?
See, there’s a bright-side to masks: Just as Artificial Intelligence has reduced the falsing rate to a level Authorities are beginning to accept, masks screw-up facial recognition.
With CCTV video cams everywhere, total tracking of individuals, as in the Chinese system, is becoming increasingly practical if totally unacceptable to most rational humans. If you think such tracking a good idea, you can stop reading right now and ban me.
As a long-term freedom vet in good standing, I am of course unalterably opposed to mandatory masks. However voluntary masks — as a sign of resistance and/or as a fashion statement — strongly appeal to me. For obvious anti AI facial recognition, regimentation and control reasons, it would be very good for us if mask-wearing became an ambiguous social tradition. The Case Against Masks... Heckenlively, Kent Buy New $12.99 (as of 04:52 UTC - Details)
Previous to COVID-19, The Establishment reflex has been to ban masks — even burqas in France — so they can recognize you.
If masks become a normal part of dress, banning becomes very difficult. And of course, all sorts of masks are acceptable. Maybe P95 look-alikes to blend in. I have an old Rebel Flag bandanna – – –
And no, that doesn’t make me a racist, just a rebel.
The thing is, wearing a mask — or cammy face-paint — before COVID-19 would draw more heat than a Donald Trump tweet. But with face masks the norm, we’re all better protected. Maybe not from THE VIRUS, but from something much more dangerous – – –
“As Americans we must always remember that we all have a common enemy, an enemy that is dangerous, powerful, and relentless. I refer, of course, to the federal government.” — Columnist Dave Barry
So, if the maskers manage to establish mask-wearing as normal — and maybe even stylish — aside from my Night of the Living Dead nightmares, it isn’t all bad.
But are you wearing your mask as a personal choice — or as proof of obedience?
HERE for updates, additions, comments, and corrections.
AND, “Like,” “Tweet,” and otherwise, pass this along!
The Best of L. Reichard White


The Robinhood Rally

As cities burn and statues topple , the Nasdaq races to all-time highs .
As unemployment explodes to levels not seen since the 1930s , gambling on dicey stocks soars .
As private property becomes less secure , titles to property are bid higher .
As businesses struggle to reopen , it ’ s business as usual for the great bull market in financial assets .
If the statisticians at the CDC are to be believed , 0.01 % of the U.S. civilian labor force has died of the coronavirus in 2020 .
For a risk that compares to driving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was scared out of their wits and a third of the economy put on life support .
Official narratives have proven far more contagious ( and lethal ) this year than any virus , and the supporting lies keep getting bigger .
Upon arrival of an unknown health risk in late February , the authorities promoted a top-down one-size-fits-all solution of universal isolation .
The centralization of knowledge was assumed and market solutions not even considered .
As “ non-essential ” businesses were shut down , corporate debt markets locked up and stocks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deal with the economic mess , only top-down government solutions saw the light of day , this time at a price tag of over $ 5 trillion in borrowed and printed money ( with plenty more on the way ) .
With the death of George Floyd on May 25 , caught on video for the world to see , the narrative shifted overnight from gray lives matter and “ shelter in place ” to “ black lives matter ” and protest in public .
Never mind that Floyd had enough fentanyl in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the officers on the scene may have acted to save him .
The mainstream media went into overdrive , promoting the well-rehearsed narrative of systemic racism .
Keep in mind , 30 % of the top 30 highest-paying celebrity endorsements last year went to blacks ( even though they account for 13 % of the population ) .
Consumers generally don ’ t buy products endorsed by people they hate .
Day Trading For Beginn ...
Swing , Gordon Buy New $ 17.94 The third act in this play , reopening the economy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases , despite evidence that this was due largely to increased testing and inflated by false positives .
( Apparently crowds looting and setting cars on fire were not a factor . )
Meanwhile , the weekly death rate has dropped 60 % from its peak in April .
( Over the past week , there were 7,200 official deaths vs. 250,000 recoveries . )
All three deceptions are wrapped in the biggest of lies , that government has a magic printing press that will suspend the laws of economics and make it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out , a fair amount of the stimulus money found its way into the financial markets .
Evidently , the government ’ s economic advisors failed to consider the possibility that shutting down casinos while ordering people to remain home and mailing them $ 1,200 checks might give the green light to pile into the only casino still open : the stock market .
Speculation took off , especially among younger investors .
Robinhood , favored by millennials , added 3 million accounts in the first quarter alone .
( Charles Schwab has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ According to CNBC , Robinhood traders lived up to their outlaw name during the coronavirus market downturn .
The young investors booked profits — trading stocks with some of the best returns in the past two months — while other Wall Street veterans were left scratching their heads .
Young investors… appeared to have a prescient understanding of the market , unlike the billionaire hedge fund managers who said stocks would retest their lows .
Longtime investor Stanley Druckenmiller — who misjudged equities ’ comeback — said Monday that the market ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has “ humbled ” him and that he underestimated the power of the Federal Reserve .
Even legendary investor Warren Buffett sold his stake in airlines during the pandemic .
In the Twittersphere , the day trading parade is led by Dave Portnoy with 1.6 million followers : I play the stock market like I play Monopoly .
If I land on it , I ’ m buying it .
I don ’ t care if it ’ s Baltic , I don ’ t care if it ’ s Park Ave… When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” I try to buy Go .
When I land in jail , I ’ m like , can I buy jail ?
… I just buy , buy , buy .
That ’ s how I do stock market , that ’ s how I play Monopoly .
It ’ s hard not to laugh , but also to know what passes for parody and actual investment advice these days .
Davey Day Trader , # DDTG , was recently invited to spend 20 minutes interviewing President Trump at the White House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March .
You can ’ t make this up .
How to wreck an economy 2020 has been a textbook example of how to inflict maximum economic damage .
Let ’ s review : 1 ) The media incites a panic over a severe novel case of the flu .
Have state governors use this as a pretext to shut down a third of the economy .
The Last Gold Rushu202 ... Haynes , Bill Buy New $ 28.00 2 ) With the social fabric frayed , the media segues to racial protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and have the police stand down while the mob takes over .
3 ) Pass trillions in money printing and stimulus , preventing the market from adjusting to rapidly changing events .
Incentivize unemployment by paying people an extra $ 600 a week to sit at home and day trade .
5 ) After you ’ ve crippled many small businesses with # 1-4 , regulate them to death , adding costs they can ’ t afford and inconveniences their customers don ’ t want .
Déjà vu all over again Anyone who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1990s must be feeling a profound sense of déjà vu .
The internet was a paradigm shift creating a New Economy in which enlightened central bankers would prevent any serious downturn .
Silicon Valley was booming .
Wall Street was cranking out hot IPOs ( initial public offerings ) and repackaging companies by adding “ .com ” to the name in order to keep up with seemingly insatiable demand from the public .
The prevailing mood among investors was that making money was easy .
Youth was elevated and wisdom discarded .
Profits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was “ first mover advantage ” and “ eyeballs.
” Those who were too old to grasp the new rules just didn ’ t “ get it.
” They were stuck in the Old Economy .
I remember when the late Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes did a story about the dot-com mania .
The young entrepreneurs he interviewed had a religious zeal , like they had been chosen for a higher calling .
One even had the audacity to tell Bradley he was a dinosaur and that his job was targeted for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a ... Andrew Aziz Best Price : $ 8.92 Buy New $ 12.91 It is hard to escape the parallels with today ’ s mania for technology stocks , venture capital , day trading , hot IPOs and youthful exuberance .
There are two critical differences : the backdrop for the 2000 vintage was a booming economy and the dollar amounts were much lower .
In 2000 , Microsoft , GE and Cisco Systems broke the $ 500 billion barrier for market capitalization .
On August 13 , Apple hit $ 2 trillion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passage that every generation must take part in some sort of speculative madness .
Today ’ s millennials seem ideologically wired to believe in the upward slope of technological progress , conflate virtue signaling with investing , underestimate the economic damage from trillions of dollars of stimulus , and place their unswerving faith in the Fed .
Tesla has become the poster child of the millennial bubble , p.c .
bubble , EV bubble and VC bubble .
Its stock commands a market value of $ 412 billion , more than BMW , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Motors combined .
Believe it or not , some traders are actually confusing Tesla ( symbol “ TSLA ” ) with micro-cap Tiziana Life Sciences ( symbol “ TLSA ” ) .
Of course , amateur hour at the casino has a silver lining .
Experienced poker players salivate when the patsies show up .
The Best of Kevin Duffy

As cities burn and statues topple, the Nasdaq races to all-time highs. As unemployment explodes to levels not seen since the 1930s, gambling on dicey stocks soars. As private property becomes less secure, titles to property are bid higher. As businesses struggle to reopen, it’s business as usual for the great bull market in financial assets.
If the statisticians at the CDC are to be believed, 0.01% of the U.S. civilian labor force has died of the coronavirus in 2020. For a risk that compares to driving an automobile, much of the population was scared out of their wits and a third of the economy put on life support.
The Big Lie
Official narratives have proven far more contagious (and lethal) this year than any virus, and the supporting lies keep getting bigger. Upon arrival of an unknown health risk in late February, the authorities promoted a top-down one-size-fits-all solution of universal isolation. The centralization of knowledge was assumed and market solutions not even considered. As “non-essential” businesses were shut down, corporate debt markets locked up and stocks lost one-third of their value. To deal with the economic mess, only top-down government solutions saw the light of day, this time at a price tag of over $5 trillion in borrowed and printed money (with plenty more on the way).
With the death of George Floyd on May 25, caught on video for the world to see, the narrative shifted overnight from gray lives matter and “shelter in place” to “black lives matter” and protest in public. Never mind that Floyd had enough fentanyl in his body to kill him and that the officers on the scene may have acted to save him. The mainstream media went into overdrive, promoting the well-rehearsed narrative of systemic racism. Keep in mind, 30% of the top 30 highest-paying celebrity endorsements last year went to blacks (even though they account for 13% of the population). Consumers generally don’t buy products endorsed by people they hate. Day Trading For Beginn... Swing, Gordon Buy New $17.94 (as of 04:16 UTC - Details)
The third act in this play, reopening the economy, was met with fearmongering over spiking cases, despite evidence that this was due largely to increased testing and inflated by false positives. (Apparently crowds looting and setting cars on fire were not a factor.) Meanwhile, the weekly death rate has dropped 60% from its peak in April. (Over the past week, there were 7,200 official deaths vs. 250,000 recoveries.)
All three deceptions are wrapped in the biggest of lies, that government has a magic printing press that will suspend the laws of economics and make it all go away.
Day trading madness
As it turns out, a fair amount of the stimulus money found its way into the financial markets. Evidently, the government’s economic advisors failed to consider the possibility that shutting down casinos while ordering people to remain home and mailing them $1,200 checks might give the green light to pile into the only casino still open: the stock market.
August 15, 2020
Speculation took off, especially among younger investors. Robinhood, favored by millennials, added 3 million accounts in the first quarter alone. (Charles Schwab has 14 million accounts in total.) According to CNBC,
Robinhood traders lived up to their outlaw name during the coronavirus market downturn. The young investors booked profits — trading stocks with some of the best returns in the past two months — while other Wall Street veterans were left scratching their heads.
Tempting the investment gods, CNBC flattered youth and mocked experience:
Young investors… appeared to have a prescient understanding of the market, unlike the billionaire hedge fund managers who said stocks would retest their lows. Longtime investor Stanley Druckenmiller — who misjudged equities’ comeback — said Monday that the market’s strong performance over the last three weeks has “humbled” him and that he underestimated the power of the Federal Reserve. Even legendary investor Warren Buffett sold his stake in airlines during the pandemic.
In the Twittersphere, the day trading parade is led by Dave Portnoy with 1.6 million followers:
I play the stock market like I play Monopoly. If I land on it, I’m buying it. I don’t care if it’s Baltic, I don’t care if it’s Park Ave… When I land on “Pass Go,” I try to buy Go. When I land in jail, I’m like, can I buy jail?… I just buy, buy, buy. That’s how I do stock market, that’s how I play Monopoly.
It’s hard not to laugh, but also to know what passes for parody and actual investment advice these days. Davey Day Trader, #DDTG, was recently invited to spend 20 minutes interviewing President Trump at the White House as both celebrated buying the dip in March. You can’t make this up.
How to wreck an economy
2020 has been a textbook example of how to inflict maximum economic damage. Let’s review:
1) The media incites a panic over a severe novel case of the flu. Have state governors use this as a pretext to shut down a third of the economy. The Last Gold Rushu202... Haynes, Bill Buy New $28.00 (as of 04:04 UTC - Details)
2) With the social fabric frayed, the media segues to racial protests. Allow bad apples to destroy property and have the police stand down while the mob takes over.
3) Pass trillions in money printing and stimulus, preventing the market from adjusting to rapidly changing events. Incentivize unemployment by paying people an extra $600 a week to sit at home and day trade.
4) Unwittingly turn speculators loose, sending false signals to economic actors.
5) After you’ve crippled many small businesses with #1-4, regulate them to death, adding costs they can’t afford and inconveniences their customers don’t want.
Déjà vu all over again
Anyone who experienced the tech bubble of the late 1990s must be feeling a profound sense of déjà vu. The internet was a paradigm shift creating a New Economy in which enlightened central bankers would prevent any serious downturn. Silicon Valley was booming. Wall Street was cranking out hot IPOs (initial public offerings) and repackaging companies by adding “.com” to the name in order to keep up with seemingly insatiable demand from the public.
The prevailing mood among investors was that making money was easy. Youth was elevated and wisdom discarded. Profits didn’t matter. What mattered was “first mover advantage” and “eyeballs.” Those who were too old to grasp the new rules just didn’t “get it.” They were stuck in the Old Economy.
February 22, 1999
I remember when the late Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes did a story about the dot-com mania. The young entrepreneurs he interviewed had a religious zeal, like they had been chosen for a higher calling. One even had the audacity to tell Bradley he was a dinosaur and that his job was targeted for extinction. How to Day Trade for a... Andrew Aziz Best Price: $8.92 Buy New $12.91 (as of 04:16 UTC - Details)
It is hard to escape the parallels with today’s mania for technology stocks, venture capital, day trading, hot IPOs and youthful exuberance. There are two critical differences: the backdrop for the 2000 vintage was a booming economy and the dollar amounts were much lower. In 2000, Microsoft, GE and Cisco Systems broke the $500 billion barrier for market capitalization. On August 13, Apple hit $2 trillion.
Perhaps it is a rite of passage that every generation must take part in some sort of speculative madness. Today’s millennials seem ideologically wired to believe in the upward slope of technological progress, conflate virtue signaling with investing, underestimate the economic damage from trillions of dollars of stimulus, and place their unswerving faith in the Fed.
Tesla has become the poster child of the millennial bubble, p.c. bubble, EV bubble and VC bubble. Its stock commands a market value of $412 billion, more than BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen, Toyota and General Motors combined. Believe it or not, some traders are actually confusing Tesla (symbol “TSLA”) with micro-cap Tiziana Life Sciences (symbol “TLSA”).
Of course, amateur hour at the casino has a silver lining. Experienced poker players salivate when the patsies show up.
(This article was excerpted from the latest issue of The Coffee Can Portfolio.)
The Best of Kevin Duffy