A Whole New World
Only a third of the American colonists supported the Revolution. Another third opposed it. The smartest ones, perhaps, stayed out of it. They must have known it was a lost cause from the get-go.
Thursday, December 18th, 2025
Bill Bonner, from Baltimore, Maryland
The idea of America was a genuine novus ordo seclorum for a New World. It was a new program...an idea so revolutionary that few people understood it and even fewer were willing to give it a chance.
But it is really simplicity itself. Either people rule themselves...or someone else rules over them. Ruling themselves meant controlling their own money...real money, that is...money that told them what things were really worth...and that they could use to pursue happiness in their own way.
Generations of leaders, however, from Tippecanoe to WWII and beyond, had different ideas. The founding fathers warned against it, but today...after more than 100 years of bi-partisan grifting and grasping...the feds and their POTUS throw their weight around pretty much as they please. And in this regard, Donald Trump, is the summa of sumos. He tosses more poundage around than any president in US history.
It is he who gives out ‘stimmie’ or ‘dividend’ checks...or new ‘Trump accounts,’ that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says will “make young people wealthy.” He pressures the Fed to lower interest rates. He, of his own free will and on his own say-so, upends the whole world trading system so as to determine how you spend your money...on what...and at what price.
With no emergency to justify it, he put armed soldiers on streets...and sent out masked men to pluck up people and take them away.
And he doesn’t stop at US borders. He presumes to tell the whole world what to do. He threatens tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. He threatens Brazil with tariffs and sanctions on its prosecutor, for going after his pal, Bolsonaro. He threatens tariffs on Canada for quoting Ronald Reagan. And he bombs the hell out of people he doesn’t know, in places he’s never been, for reasons he won’t take the time to understand. From Altitude Post comes this headline:
US Doubles Somalia Airstrikes in 2025, Marks 100th Strike of Year
Nowhere in the US Constitution does it contemplate such executive power. The president is supposed to ‘faithfully execute’ the laws of the land, not make them up as he goes along.
And the poor downtrodden citizen...he can no longer be said to rule himself. He is told what to do by thousands of officials...petty and grand. In that sense, Mr. Trump has done us a favor; no one should have any further delusions about it; America is not so different from other nations. Sometimes a shining ‘city on a hill.’ Sometimes, a sh*thole.
A small example:
We bought a piece of property near our farm. The old house on it has been falling down for the last 35 years. Shortly after the purchase the county government told us that the abandoned house was a ‘hazard’’ and we had to tear it down within 20 days.
“Ok...we’ll tear it down,” said we.
“But wait,” said the nice person representing the local government.
“You will need a permit. And I’m afraid we’re a little short-staffed...and what with the holidays...it will take some time.
“And we’ll have to send out inspectors to check for asbestos and to see if you need to put up a silt fence.”
“How long will that take?”
“Three to six months.”
“I thought this was a safety hazard.”
“Well, it is, but we need to be sure you take it down safely.”
“Oh...”
Yes, dear reader...the days of ruling ourselves is long gone. Today, we are abused by a jolly duncery of crooks, clowns and incompetents.
And the whole experiment — government of the people, by the people, and for the people — was only undertaken at all because of a flukey stroke of luck. The French and British were fighting all over the world. The Marquis de Lafayette harassed British troops in Yorktown, Virginia. Then, the Comte de Grasse brought the French fleet up from West Indies and bottled Cornwallis up, cutting him off from supplies. A French column led by the Vicomte de Deux-Ponts rushed the British positions. And then the siege bombardment, using French guns and gunners, began. Cornwallis soon realized his predicament and asked for peace. The resulting settlement was not the Treaty of New York...or the Peace of Poughkeepsie. It was the Treaty of Paris, in which the two main parties were the French and the British, not the Americans.
Only a third of the American colonists supported the Revolution. Another third actively opposed it. The smartest ones, perhaps, stayed out of it. They must have known it was a lost cause from the get-go.
And today, we see how naïve the founding idea was. There is little observable difference between the lives and liberties of Americans and those of the French, Germans or English, for that matter. All line up for government handouts...recycle their trash...pay their taxes...and stagger ahead –with the feds on their backs -- as best they can.
More to come...
Regards,
Bill Bonner
Research Note, by Dan Denning
Wall Street economists expected a 3.1% rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for November. They got 2.7%—a ‘beat.’ In Wall Street logic, a lower read on CPI gives the Fed the all-clear to cut interest rates again on January 27th-28th (the next time the Federal Open Market Committee meets). Stock futures turned green on the news.
‘Core’ CPI, minus food and energy, was even lower on a 12-month basis at 2.6%. You can thank low oil and gas prices for that. Low energy prices have kept a lid on CPI for most of 2025. And the government shutdown prevented the collection of all inflation data for the month of October.
A reminder: 2.7% is not a low number (although certainly better than 9.1% at the peak under ‘you know who.’) And it is not the Fed’s target number of 2%. Using the ‘Rule of 72’ prices double about once a generation (every 26 years) when they compound at 2.7% per year. Beat inflation with your asset returns or watch your quality of life go down in a fiat money regime.
"With no emergency to justify it, he put armed soldiers on streets...and sent out masked men to pluck up people and take them away."
I guess Mr. Bonner and I are at loggerheads as to what constitutes an "emergency". To me, it was long past an emergency; it was an existential crisis. Because his predecessor, Mr. Biden, had not only failed to "faithfully execute" the laws of the land, and not merely that, he was willfully derelict in that duty and flouted his negligence for the sake of a political agenda, which in my view was calculated to destroy the very country and society of which he was executive. In a speech from Philadelphia, he openly and brazenly called those who opposed his egregious dereliction of duty "the enemy" of the country.
But, hey, this is, or purports to be, America, so each is free to see "it" as he or she sees it, and not only see it, but also openly and freely talk about it. In exchanges of viewpoint, interpretation, and opinion, I endeavor not to take offense, but I do take issue. Best always. PM
If not for Denning and Dyson, I would cancel this subscription. Bill is turning into a crackpot. I think it's because he lives in Baltimore and thinks what's outside his window is the same everywhere in the USA. Dan, who lives in his nice bolthole in Wyoming, should set him straight. I live on a farm in South Dakota, I too have old dilapidated barns that I thought would be a hazard to my grandchildren, so I got out my backhoe and tore them down, threw a match on the pile, and then dug a hole to bury the remaining nails, hinges, and old cement chunks. Did not tell anyone or need a single permit. All of the rot that Bill complains about exists only in those concentrated blue dots scattered about the country.