America’s big devaluation began in 1971...and is on-going. In gold terms, the dollar has lost 99.2% of its value. And it is being devalued — though not officially — everyday.
Bill, a correction. The court did not strike down tariff's. It only said that IFFPA could not be used to justify the tariff's. As I am sure you know, there are other laws passed long ago to support going after tariff's.
I am sure everyone knows there will never be any refunds to those who have already paid tariff's.
After reading Joel Bowman's Substack today regarding rapidly declining birthrates everywhere but sub-Saharan Africa; and John Ellis' reporting on the U.S. economy's terrifying exposure to a Chinese takeover of Taiwan; this post was almost uplifting...at least old Paris still looks like old Paris. Add to that the devaluation of the dollar, a heaping tablespoon of Ai and the huge overhang of debt that is about to break loose and bury us. Feels like the end of the world as this boomer has known it. So I'm left to pray about everything and worry about nothing...
Yep - well said. There is nothing like pondering the swirl of the World as it heads down the drain. There are those with hopium thinking maybe, just maybe, somehow the World will right itself. Nice thoughts.......but that and $10 will get you a latte at Starbucks. To me I am caught up in watching as the World splinters. Interesting times as the West ( most of the G7) tries to regain its power (unfortunately with muscle only) and we see the East playing chess and countering with long term strategies while watching the West destroy itself. What did Sun Tzu mumble - "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake" and one other - "If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him." Ol' Bill's head has to be spinning with thoughts of his younger days and the laments of seeing what lays ahead. Maybe Bill, it is time to pop a bottle of Tapiz Torrontés, kick back, and enjoy the "crepuscule" of our Age as it passes into history.
I didn’t see the swirl coming this hard and fast until 2007-8. The bailout of the Banks and Wall Street manipulators coupled with Congress’s refusal to make hard long-term decisions was the last best chance to turn this lumbering, leaking ship away from the shoals.
It may take living too long to final see the light. Career politicians are not statesmen - they become "bought" and "paid for" servants of the elites. Fully understandable. Just human nature and - as they say - human nature never changes. All empires fall - some more gracefully than others - but fall they do. This American Hegemony is in its last dying throws and let's hope the ship sinks slowly under the waves and not with a mushroom. One further quote from ol' Ben Franklin - "Life's tragedy is that we get too old too soon and wise too late."
That quip about "never interrupt your enemy . . ." was Napoleon, not Sun Tzu, but your point is well taken.
I celebrated a business win Saturday night with good friends and a very large bottle of Dom Perignon. That old adage is really true, "Living well is the best revenge."
Reading your posts always reminds me that life is too short and never pass up an opportunity to stop and smell roses.
Ah yes, the Citroën DS. We had one for two years. It did indeed rise up when started, and was generally a very comfortable car. Especially in the rear seat, as it was built for the comfort of the passenger, not the driver. And don't -- at the risk of losing your mind -- try to change a rear tire. Step one: remove the rear fender. Really. Totally remove it. Step two: use the pneumatic system to raise the car, if the car will even start. Step three: schedule expensive maintenance. The maintenance requirements of the DS drove owners to distraction and poverty.
French automotive design philosophy is drastically different from its American counterpart, and an American driver needs to re-calibrate his/her understanding of what a car is and what it is expected to do or be prepared to tear his/her hair out.
How refreshing to NOT hear the normal carping about Trump. One of the few commentaries I've actually bothered to read completely! Hooray!! ( :-) [Yeah - not so good at smiley faces. Not much practice lately.]
First, thank you Bill, for not spending my time with a load of vitriol on DJT. You reported on the state of America but your assessment was relatively accurate. You will get the inaccuracies listed today in the comments, so I won’t spend my time with my disagreements. Instead, I’d like to give a brief account of my experiences with Paris. I have visited it only two times, the first as a tourist many years ago [in the late ‘70’s] and again in the ‘90s on business. Both were a disappointment. The first found the Parisians extremely rude specifically to Americans, but not to the Brits and Australians we were traveling with. There was no attempt to hide their distain and there was no apologies when we called them on their rudeness. The second time was business and we were traveling with Brits again so the rudeness was more covert, but nevertheless present just under the surface. It was obvious to my business companions and they apologized for the Parisians, but crickets from the culprits. I have not returned to Paris since and have no plans to ever go back. Remarkably, I have been to several other cities in France and found the residents to be just the opposite, polite, grateful for my being there and spending my dollars, helpful when language was an issue, etc. I suspect I’d have gotten a better reception if I were recognized as an American billionaire, but c’est la vie.
Bill Bonner is self-proclaimed "relatively rich". He helps some other "relatively rich" guy plunk down "$2 million" for an "apartment" in mid-town Pahree, like I would part with $4000 (after serious deliberation over a few weeks) for a 2002 Northstar Cadillac, as I did back in Dec. 2025, for the "experience". Bill, buddy, you're in the advice-for-money business. Being RICH is a requirement. You ARE rich; celebrate it! And if not celebrate it, at least face it. There's nothing inherently wrong with it. If you're trying to BS me and your subscribers on your own "relative" situation, how seriously are we supposed to take your advices? Best always. PM
If you ever want to see a special side of Paris, go during the summer solstice.
My wife and a couple of dear friends and I happened to be there at the same time as the Paris Air Show. We had no idea when we booked the trip. Once we found out, we couldn’t resist. It is the world’s premier aeronautics event. Yes, much of it is military and heavy on drone technology, but seeing the newest fighters carving up the sky in full aerobatic displays is unforgettable.
And yet, that wasn’t the highlight.
We had rented an Airbnb in Montmartre, near Sacré-Cœur, the same dramatic backdrop from John Wick 4. After a long day of wandering the city, we walked to a small restaurant around the corner for a late dinner. It was one of those perfect Paris meals where everything just works.
Then we noticed the place across the street rolling out massive speakers onto the sidewalk.
We assumed it was a private event.
By the time dessert arrived, the music started. EDM. Loud enough that conversation at our own table became a shouting match. More speakers appeared. Young people gathered. Dancing began.
When we stepped outside, the real surprise hit us.
The entire street had transformed.
What had been a typical tourist-filled Montmartre evening was now a full-blown open-air celebration. Half the restaurants had turned themselves into mini outdoor clubs, each with its own DJ, each with its own crowd spilling into the street. Everywhere you looked there were people moving to the music.
And it went on for hours.
Two, maybe three in the morning. Music. Dancing. A citywide exhale as the longest day tipped into night. A celebration of light, of summer, of simply being alive on a turning planet beneath the sun.
Bill, a correction. The court did not strike down tariff's. It only said that IFFPA could not be used to justify the tariff's. As I am sure you know, there are other laws passed long ago to support going after tariff's.
I am sure everyone knows there will never be any refunds to those who have already paid tariff's.
These games will continue.
Jim Marshall
After reading Joel Bowman's Substack today regarding rapidly declining birthrates everywhere but sub-Saharan Africa; and John Ellis' reporting on the U.S. economy's terrifying exposure to a Chinese takeover of Taiwan; this post was almost uplifting...at least old Paris still looks like old Paris. Add to that the devaluation of the dollar, a heaping tablespoon of Ai and the huge overhang of debt that is about to break loose and bury us. Feels like the end of the world as this boomer has known it. So I'm left to pray about everything and worry about nothing...
Yep - well said. There is nothing like pondering the swirl of the World as it heads down the drain. There are those with hopium thinking maybe, just maybe, somehow the World will right itself. Nice thoughts.......but that and $10 will get you a latte at Starbucks. To me I am caught up in watching as the World splinters. Interesting times as the West ( most of the G7) tries to regain its power (unfortunately with muscle only) and we see the East playing chess and countering with long term strategies while watching the West destroy itself. What did Sun Tzu mumble - "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake" and one other - "If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him." Ol' Bill's head has to be spinning with thoughts of his younger days and the laments of seeing what lays ahead. Maybe Bill, it is time to pop a bottle of Tapiz Torrontés, kick back, and enjoy the "crepuscule" of our Age as it passes into history.
I didn’t see the swirl coming this hard and fast until 2007-8. The bailout of the Banks and Wall Street manipulators coupled with Congress’s refusal to make hard long-term decisions was the last best chance to turn this lumbering, leaking ship away from the shoals.
It may take living too long to final see the light. Career politicians are not statesmen - they become "bought" and "paid for" servants of the elites. Fully understandable. Just human nature and - as they say - human nature never changes. All empires fall - some more gracefully than others - but fall they do. This American Hegemony is in its last dying throws and let's hope the ship sinks slowly under the waves and not with a mushroom. One further quote from ol' Ben Franklin - "Life's tragedy is that we get too old too soon and wise too late."
That quip about "never interrupt your enemy . . ." was Napoleon, not Sun Tzu, but your point is well taken.
I celebrated a business win Saturday night with good friends and a very large bottle of Dom Perignon. That old adage is really true, "Living well is the best revenge."
Reading your posts always reminds me that life is too short and never pass up an opportunity to stop and smell roses.
Ah yes, the Citroën DS. We had one for two years. It did indeed rise up when started, and was generally a very comfortable car. Especially in the rear seat, as it was built for the comfort of the passenger, not the driver. And don't -- at the risk of losing your mind -- try to change a rear tire. Step one: remove the rear fender. Really. Totally remove it. Step two: use the pneumatic system to raise the car, if the car will even start. Step three: schedule expensive maintenance. The maintenance requirements of the DS drove owners to distraction and poverty.
French automotive design philosophy is drastically different from its American counterpart, and an American driver needs to re-calibrate his/her understanding of what a car is and what it is expected to do or be prepared to tear his/her hair out.
The Worst part of France… Macron
Feb 24, 2026 the official U.S. inflation rate is 2.4%... not 3%
The gov't shut down in 2025 is said to have lowered the GDP by around 1%
-
France is comparable to California in population and GDP.
And the fact both suck at the moment...
How refreshing to NOT hear the normal carping about Trump. One of the few commentaries I've actually bothered to read completely! Hooray!! ( :-) [Yeah - not so good at smiley faces. Not much practice lately.]
First, thank you Bill, for not spending my time with a load of vitriol on DJT. You reported on the state of America but your assessment was relatively accurate. You will get the inaccuracies listed today in the comments, so I won’t spend my time with my disagreements. Instead, I’d like to give a brief account of my experiences with Paris. I have visited it only two times, the first as a tourist many years ago [in the late ‘70’s] and again in the ‘90s on business. Both were a disappointment. The first found the Parisians extremely rude specifically to Americans, but not to the Brits and Australians we were traveling with. There was no attempt to hide their distain and there was no apologies when we called them on their rudeness. The second time was business and we were traveling with Brits again so the rudeness was more covert, but nevertheless present just under the surface. It was obvious to my business companions and they apologized for the Parisians, but crickets from the culprits. I have not returned to Paris since and have no plans to ever go back. Remarkably, I have been to several other cities in France and found the residents to be just the opposite, polite, grateful for my being there and spending my dollars, helpful when language was an issue, etc. I suspect I’d have gotten a better reception if I were recognized as an American billionaire, but c’est la vie.
Bill Bonner is self-proclaimed "relatively rich". He helps some other "relatively rich" guy plunk down "$2 million" for an "apartment" in mid-town Pahree, like I would part with $4000 (after serious deliberation over a few weeks) for a 2002 Northstar Cadillac, as I did back in Dec. 2025, for the "experience". Bill, buddy, you're in the advice-for-money business. Being RICH is a requirement. You ARE rich; celebrate it! And if not celebrate it, at least face it. There's nothing inherently wrong with it. If you're trying to BS me and your subscribers on your own "relative" situation, how seriously are we supposed to take your advices? Best always. PM
If you ever want to see a special side of Paris, go during the summer solstice.
My wife and a couple of dear friends and I happened to be there at the same time as the Paris Air Show. We had no idea when we booked the trip. Once we found out, we couldn’t resist. It is the world’s premier aeronautics event. Yes, much of it is military and heavy on drone technology, but seeing the newest fighters carving up the sky in full aerobatic displays is unforgettable.
And yet, that wasn’t the highlight.
We had rented an Airbnb in Montmartre, near Sacré-Cœur, the same dramatic backdrop from John Wick 4. After a long day of wandering the city, we walked to a small restaurant around the corner for a late dinner. It was one of those perfect Paris meals where everything just works.
Then we noticed the place across the street rolling out massive speakers onto the sidewalk.
We assumed it was a private event.
By the time dessert arrived, the music started. EDM. Loud enough that conversation at our own table became a shouting match. More speakers appeared. Young people gathered. Dancing began.
When we stepped outside, the real surprise hit us.
The entire street had transformed.
What had been a typical tourist-filled Montmartre evening was now a full-blown open-air celebration. Half the restaurants had turned themselves into mini outdoor clubs, each with its own DJ, each with its own crowd spilling into the street. Everywhere you looked there were people moving to the music.
And it went on for hours.
Two, maybe three in the morning. Music. Dancing. A citywide exhale as the longest day tipped into night. A celebration of light, of summer, of simply being alive on a turning planet beneath the sun.
Ah, Paris.
Bill, I arrived in 1976, lived on Blvd St. Germain, right near metro Odeon.