Almost everyone in the Congress would agree that the biggest problem we have is the national debt. That is a macro-economic problem. But every member of Congress is more concerned with their own micro-economic problem which is getting reelected. The things that must be done to balance the budget and get the debt under control are contrary to their major objective of getting reelected. The system is the problem
Can't agree with you more, "the system is the problem". That's why we need an Article 5 Convention of States where state legislators meet to propose and ratify Constitutional Amendments that will fix the system because Washington isn't going to fix Washington. The founding fathers brilliantly included this provision in the Constitution to deal with the exact situation we find ourselves in right now. We need to push hard to exercise it.
A Constitutional Convention would be a bad idea. Anything can be brought up, and will be. A majority of the people (?) elected Biden et al; do you really trust them to do the right thing? Anyway, this is all moot, as it thankfully will not happen. As a nation we have gone down the wrong road, and there's no turning back. Well, there is, but the other side of the ditch will be worse.
No matter how far you've gone down the wrong path - turn back.
Do more research. Your comments ignore the fact that the majority of state legislators are far more conservative than the idiots in Washington D.C. It's not a bad idea, it's a great idea and needs to happen asap.
I believe only 20 have actually approved it and there are more in the hopper. You are correct that it requires 34. If you look at what it will take to pass any amendment(s) that come(s) out of a Convention of States, it's virtually impossible for it to "go off the rails". The one that would make the most difference would be term limits for members of both houses of Congress. That would be a good start.
You're right, it's 20 not 28. Brain fart! Is there any info. on what term limits they are considering? I would suggest 3 terms (18 years) for Senate and 4 terms (8 years) for House. Enough time to get up to speed and make a difference, but not become fully out of touch with the people they supposedly "serve".
There are multiple proposals for term limits and the ones in your post are absolutely in some of them. I believe one proposal is for only two Senate terms as well. That's the thing about a Convention, people bring different ideas and then a consensus gets negotiated.
Dave, I agree with Alex’s comment below. Just as there will never be another Amendment to the Constitution, a Convention of States would never solve anything because 75% of the states will never again agree to anything. If a Convention of States were to occur, I could see Amendments codifying LGBTQ rights while cancelling the Second Amendment, etc. Nothing good would come of it.
From an interview with David Stockman the only way this gets fixed is to eliminate the Federal Reserve. Once that goes all the rest will be forced in line . Electing the right politician won’t work. Debt monetization needs to be ended.
Haha. A "tech boom" is what "they" trot out when the market/economy needs cover. Don't fall for this again. As Bill constantly points out, tech has not improved anything, merely gives the illusion. AI is the next money trap. Best always. PM
For this reason, the debt ceiling provision should be repealed. The money has been spent and the bills have to be paid, by borrowing if necessary. Congress has no choice but raise the ceiling or face uncertain, and probably bad, economic effects. Fix the deficit problem during the budgeting process.
I would like to give a gift subscription. That option used to be available at the bottom of the newsletter.
Please make it an easy procedure for me.
And can you post once more the recommended gold stocks or ETFs for holding physical gold. I know I’ve read the names here twice before. This time I will print them off.
This is the most common sense and educational publication I have ever read. Not to mention humorous and clever! That says a lot..I’m mid 80’s.
Thank you so much for a fresh breath of air each day!
RT (traveling and living between Idaho, California and Texas). The best of all worlds!
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has a scalability problem outside of the biggest and most cash on hand flush enterprises in the world. I wish congress and the senate would sit down to establish a realistic solution to start chipping away at the national debt (I believe it’s a fools errand that it will ever get below $10 trillion again). Additionally, the US national security strategy is 40 years out of date location and configuration wise. A serious downsizing of footprints and reorientation of our principle strategic relationship needs to be addressed. My idea might be dumb, but if I were the United States and was serious about building a modern partnership, I would do that with India (Location is more strategic for the next 50 to 100 years of civilization advancement and interest protection). Instead of building more, downsize, reconfigure, and start realizing that strategic interests/alliances does not translate to world police force with unlimited taxpayer funds.
"I believe it’s a fools errand that it will ever get below $10 trillion again"
Oh, I don't know, Matthew, all it would take is a little dose of Zimbabwe like inflation and we could easily pay off that 32 trillion debt. And with one of those cool 100 trillion banknotes just think of all the things we could buy with the remaining 68 trillion. 👍
Certainly the gov's direction, on printing money, isn't going to switch until it has no choice. I think nothing is more obvious than that. The US hasn't lost reserve currency status and it still can borrow. Our "leaders" are those farthest removed from considering the negative possibilities. They don't have the slightest bone in their bodies when it comes to saving for a rainy day. So goes the nation!
As a "lifetime" member in the Bonner enterprise, I felt a little bit like the rug was pulled out from under us loyalists with the Florida fiasco. Nevertheless, I wanted to make it clear that my remarks were intended as an observation on the "product", and certainly I wanted to steer away from any innuendo or "reading into" regarding character. Nomi Prins may very well be on solid ground in her opinions and professional approach, but she is very aggressive in her marketing and customer relations, whereas Bill is a soft-peddler. That's what I meant by "oil and water". I wish Ms. Prins nothing but the best, but I remain determined she does it without me. Thank you for you input and contributions. Best always. PM
I don’t know any US Congressmen or Senators. Can someone who knows one or two comment if it’s possible to have sensible conversation with them about Common Sense.
Seems to me that once they get elected into the role they have brain failure.
Economics, Deficit, Crash, Currency, Devaluation etc should not be matters for day to day discussion.
Only voters talk about this twaddle, it is so irritating and low brow !
Similar to that Artificial Intellectuals stuff....
CONgress is really the one responsible for the state of our nation. Remember, the president is the executive branch; he is supposed to execute the will of CONgress. CONgress is elected by the people. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
"The Fed lent out money below the rate of inflation – lots of it. In 2009, the Fed balance sheet – a measure of its lending – stood at under $900 billion. By 2022, it was almost over $9 trillion"
"The Nasdaq, home of much hope and wishful thinking, rose in line with Fed lending, up from 1,300 in 2008 to 13,000 in 2021."
Funny how that works, isn't it ? How is a correlation of 1 called again ?
I wish I hadn't read this - could still think I actually have some investing skills
I think there's an error in your numbers regarding the Fed's balance sheet. You say that In 2009, the Fed balance sheet – a measure of its lending – stood at under $900 billion. Yet an IMF working paper (WP 09/120) notes that the fed's balance sheet doubled in 2008 to ~$2.2 Trillion, which makes sense, given the events of that year. The last year close to $900 Billion was 2007, according to the IMF paper (see figure 2. p.7)
I have a question for Tom Dyson. Tom, if it is true about a new fed digital coin to replace cash, should we still keep a large percentage of cash? Nomi Prins is warning against keeping cash in a bank. What say you?
I don't know about Tom (who says "cash" but means "short-term T-bills"), but Bill Bonner ran away from Nomi Prins as fast as he could, and I think there was a good reason for that. I'm sure he barely got out with his skin on. Best always. PM
GF or PM: Gives us a hint. I found nothing negative about her. She tells you where she's been working and what she's doing. I never totally agree with any of the publishers w/o doing some checking. She came up zero..no indictments or bad press. Plus, I have not lost money on her suggestions. I never trust anyone totally. If you don't do your homework, you may be very disappointed...So far, so good.
Almost everyone in the Congress would agree that the biggest problem we have is the national debt. That is a macro-economic problem. But every member of Congress is more concerned with their own micro-economic problem which is getting reelected. The things that must be done to balance the budget and get the debt under control are contrary to their major objective of getting reelected. The system is the problem
Can't agree with you more, "the system is the problem". That's why we need an Article 5 Convention of States where state legislators meet to propose and ratify Constitutional Amendments that will fix the system because Washington isn't going to fix Washington. The founding fathers brilliantly included this provision in the Constitution to deal with the exact situation we find ourselves in right now. We need to push hard to exercise it.
A Constitutional Convention would be a bad idea. Anything can be brought up, and will be. A majority of the people (?) elected Biden et al; do you really trust them to do the right thing? Anyway, this is all moot, as it thankfully will not happen. As a nation we have gone down the wrong road, and there's no turning back. Well, there is, but the other side of the ditch will be worse.
No matter how far you've gone down the wrong path - turn back.
-Old Indian Proverb (American, not slurpee)
Do more research. Your comments ignore the fact that the majority of state legislators are far more conservative than the idiots in Washington D.C. It's not a bad idea, it's a great idea and needs to happen asap.
At last count, 28 states have agreed to an Article 5 convention. Six more are needed. https://conventionofstates.com/states-that-have-passed-the-convention-of-states-article-v-application. It would be great if the convention focused on fixing Washington, but I do share the concern of Alex and Tom that it could go off the rails and propose undesirable changes beyond its mandate.
I believe only 20 have actually approved it and there are more in the hopper. You are correct that it requires 34. If you look at what it will take to pass any amendment(s) that come(s) out of a Convention of States, it's virtually impossible for it to "go off the rails". The one that would make the most difference would be term limits for members of both houses of Congress. That would be a good start.
You're right, it's 20 not 28. Brain fart! Is there any info. on what term limits they are considering? I would suggest 3 terms (18 years) for Senate and 4 terms (8 years) for House. Enough time to get up to speed and make a difference, but not become fully out of touch with the people they supposedly "serve".
There are multiple proposals for term limits and the ones in your post are absolutely in some of them. I believe one proposal is for only two Senate terms as well. That's the thing about a Convention, people bring different ideas and then a consensus gets negotiated.
Dave, I agree with Alex’s comment below. Just as there will never be another Amendment to the Constitution, a Convention of States would never solve anything because 75% of the states will never again agree to anything. If a Convention of States were to occur, I could see Amendments codifying LGBTQ rights while cancelling the Second Amendment, etc. Nothing good would come of it.
See my response to Alex.
From an interview with David Stockman the only way this gets fixed is to eliminate the Federal Reserve. Once that goes all the rest will be forced in line . Electing the right politician won’t work. Debt monetization needs to be ended.
Haha. A "tech boom" is what "they" trot out when the market/economy needs cover. Don't fall for this again. As Bill constantly points out, tech has not improved anything, merely gives the illusion. AI is the next money trap. Best always. PM
It’s not that the government “should” borrow more money, it must borrow more money because of the appropriations bills that were passed.
For this reason, the debt ceiling provision should be repealed. The money has been spent and the bills have to be paid, by borrowing if necessary. Congress has no choice but raise the ceiling or face uncertain, and probably bad, economic effects. Fix the deficit problem during the budgeting process.
I would like to give a gift subscription. That option used to be available at the bottom of the newsletter.
Please make it an easy procedure for me.
And can you post once more the recommended gold stocks or ETFs for holding physical gold. I know I’ve read the names here twice before. This time I will print them off.
This is the most common sense and educational publication I have ever read. Not to mention humorous and clever! That says a lot..I’m mid 80’s.
Thank you so much for a fresh breath of air each day!
RT (traveling and living between Idaho, California and Texas). The best of all worlds!
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has a scalability problem outside of the biggest and most cash on hand flush enterprises in the world. I wish congress and the senate would sit down to establish a realistic solution to start chipping away at the national debt (I believe it’s a fools errand that it will ever get below $10 trillion again). Additionally, the US national security strategy is 40 years out of date location and configuration wise. A serious downsizing of footprints and reorientation of our principle strategic relationship needs to be addressed. My idea might be dumb, but if I were the United States and was serious about building a modern partnership, I would do that with India (Location is more strategic for the next 50 to 100 years of civilization advancement and interest protection). Instead of building more, downsize, reconfigure, and start realizing that strategic interests/alliances does not translate to world police force with unlimited taxpayer funds.
"I believe it’s a fools errand that it will ever get below $10 trillion again"
Oh, I don't know, Matthew, all it would take is a little dose of Zimbabwe like inflation and we could easily pay off that 32 trillion debt. And with one of those cool 100 trillion banknotes just think of all the things we could buy with the remaining 68 trillion. 👍
Tulips anyone?
Certainly the gov's direction, on printing money, isn't going to switch until it has no choice. I think nothing is more obvious than that. The US hasn't lost reserve currency status and it still can borrow. Our "leaders" are those farthest removed from considering the negative possibilities. They don't have the slightest bone in their bodies when it comes to saving for a rainy day. So goes the nation!
Bill,Like your comments on Wallstreet verses Main Street.
As a "lifetime" member in the Bonner enterprise, I felt a little bit like the rug was pulled out from under us loyalists with the Florida fiasco. Nevertheless, I wanted to make it clear that my remarks were intended as an observation on the "product", and certainly I wanted to steer away from any innuendo or "reading into" regarding character. Nomi Prins may very well be on solid ground in her opinions and professional approach, but she is very aggressive in her marketing and customer relations, whereas Bill is a soft-peddler. That's what I meant by "oil and water". I wish Ms. Prins nothing but the best, but I remain determined she does it without me. Thank you for you input and contributions. Best always. PM
I don’t know any US Congressmen or Senators. Can someone who knows one or two comment if it’s possible to have sensible conversation with them about Common Sense.
Seems to me that once they get elected into the role they have brain failure.
Economics, Deficit, Crash, Currency, Devaluation etc should not be matters for day to day discussion.
Only voters talk about this twaddle, it is so irritating and low brow !
Similar to that Artificial Intellectuals stuff....
CONgress is really the one responsible for the state of our nation. Remember, the president is the executive branch; he is supposed to execute the will of CONgress. CONgress is elected by the people. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
"The Fed lent out money below the rate of inflation – lots of it. In 2009, the Fed balance sheet – a measure of its lending – stood at under $900 billion. By 2022, it was almost over $9 trillion"
"The Nasdaq, home of much hope and wishful thinking, rose in line with Fed lending, up from 1,300 in 2008 to 13,000 in 2021."
Funny how that works, isn't it ? How is a correlation of 1 called again ?
I wish I hadn't read this - could still think I actually have some investing skills
I think there's an error in your numbers regarding the Fed's balance sheet. You say that In 2009, the Fed balance sheet – a measure of its lending – stood at under $900 billion. Yet an IMF working paper (WP 09/120) notes that the fed's balance sheet doubled in 2008 to ~$2.2 Trillion, which makes sense, given the events of that year. The last year close to $900 Billion was 2007, according to the IMF paper (see figure 2. p.7)
I have a question for Tom Dyson. Tom, if it is true about a new fed digital coin to replace cash, should we still keep a large percentage of cash? Nomi Prins is warning against keeping cash in a bank. What say you?
I don't know about Tom (who says "cash" but means "short-term T-bills"), but Bill Bonner ran away from Nomi Prins as fast as he could, and I think there was a good reason for that. I'm sure he barely got out with his skin on. Best always. PM
Paul, I thought Nomi replaced Bill at the other publishing outfit. I’d be interested to hear the real story of you have time.
AL: Yes and I would also be interested in the "real story" since I also read her.
GF or PM: Gives us a hint. I found nothing negative about her. She tells you where she's been working and what she's doing. I never totally agree with any of the publishers w/o doing some checking. She came up zero..no indictments or bad press. Plus, I have not lost money on her suggestions. I never trust anyone totally. If you don't do your homework, you may be very disappointed...So far, so good.
My homework skills must suck, cause all I find are articles about one or the other. No overlap.