Planning for an Icy Future
In Germany the harsh winter has conveyed dramatic warning of how nasty life will become as it proceeds with its extreme Energiewende policy to rely on renewables to meet its electricity needs.
21/09/2021
The Elite Seeks to Entrench Its Power
The Elite Seeks to Entrench Its Power taken from our ‘On Target Newsletter’ issue no 267
In the past American presidents have used the first of their four-year terms to do the nasty stuff, pushing through unpopular changes, saving the nice bits for closer to next elections. Joe Biden is doing the opposite. He’s immediately spending or trying to spend public money on a scale so lavish that it’s comparable to mobilizing for a world war. What’s going on?
The Biden administration is gambling that it can use its wafer-thin control of federal government to force through measures that will entrench Democrats’ defences against the rising threat from populist Republicans. Time is short because in the mid-term elections only 18 months away the Democrats could easily lose control.
My friend Bill Bonner says Hillary Clinton “made one of the most tone-deaf political blunders in history by referring to these people as ‘deplorables’. Over the years those deplorables have drifted towards the Republicans.”
From a classical conservative perspective, Donald Trump made little sense with his policies and proposals. “But when it came to the cultural notes, he seemed to have perfect pitch”
Since the 1990s the two parties have switched. Republicans “now represent the working class and the hustling, small-business-owning petite bourgeoisie. The Democrats are now the party of the Grand Bourgeoisie – big business, the rich, the elite, the media, the universities and the government itself (including the Pentagon).
“The trouble with this realignment, from the Democrats’ perspective is that there are relatively more deplorable voters than elite voters.”
They are attacking this problem with several initiatives to tilt the balance of power…
► Seeking to pack the Supreme Court by adding four judges sympathetic to its interests. “Fortunately that idea seems to be going nowhere, with several Democratic senators facing re-election afraid to touch it.”
► Seeking to pack Congress by giving the District of Columbia, the capital city of Washington, statehood. With that would come two senators and one congressional representative. The three new hacks would be reliable, guaranteed votes for the Democrats. However that effort is also unlikely to pass.
► The massive fiscal spending plans that aim “to win back working-class votes by handing out good-paying jobs in the ‘infrastructure’ boondoggle [only a small percentage of which will actually be for infrastructure]… along with free schooling and other giveaways in the ‘families’ programme.
“It might work.”
OT 267 22 May 2021
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Maximizing Your Investment Returns
The first thing most people look at when considering an investment is the annual rate of return they expect to be able to make out of it. Return is the “rent” you enjoy as payment for investing your capital rather than going out and spending it, and also the “reward” for the risk you take.
21/09/2021
Tailpieces Blog Post 263
Longer-term forces are stacking up against the world’s reserve currency, says the FT’s Michael Mackenzie.
The dollar has been falling for several months in trade-weighted terms under pressure from increasing trade and budget deficits, with expectations that ultra-lo w interest rates are set for an extended stay.
20/09/2021
Time to Exit the Bubble… Or Not
Those of us who have been around long enough know something about booms and busts (I was lucky enough to choose to exit the dotcom mania on the day the market peaked). So, is this the right time to flee the share markets? Not yet. I agree with Eoin Treacy that although “there is clear evidence a mania is evolving… there is no evidence it has reached its peak.”
20/09/2021
Vietnam: a Spectacular Emerging Economy
Crossing a main street in a Vietnamese city is unnerving. As you follow the tourist guide advice, ignoring traffic risk as you step out, boldly striding forward at a steady pace, you are engulfed by a torrent of motorcycles. They swerve as they sweep past you, never touching you.
20/09/2021
Looming Threat to Your Personal Wealth
The pandemic has devastated government finances around the world. Savage shutdowns have destroyed millions of businesses and crippled many more, pushing them into debt to survive.
20/09/2021
