Even at today’s relatively low inflation levels, the dollar will lose about one-third of its value over the next ten years. No wonder foreign nations are increasingly joining together to by-pass it.
If not for public education and academia controlling the flow of historical data, we'd have no need to relive the experiment of fake money every hundred years of so. The same can be said for the systems of socialism and communism. We don't learn from history because academia and government profit from the ignorance of the people.
My grandfather spent his last 12 years in our home where he related in his youth attending school to the 8th grade prepared a young man to enter the world, where he'd receive the rest of his education in the workplace. With only a junior high level a student could read, write legibly, spell, write a sentence, solve mathematical equations, and probably drive a stick shift. Accordingly, students were taught rational thinking and decision making and civics.
In comparison a high number todays's high school graduates are ill equipped to do much of anything except take up space in college. These will graduate with vaguely markable skills, most will have crushing debt. Few will ever purchase a car, home, fewer still will ever in own a home or car free and clear of debt.
The problem with academia in general it no longer seeks out professors with real world experience or knowledge. The faculty in most universities consist of former students who've never left the educational process, they study under similar people learning the same old rehashed and failed ideas.
I don't blame the youth rebelling against the current system. They've been taught by their academic slave masters to attack the system that is their only salvation.
They should have learned; the world owes you nothing, work, learn, make smart decisions, ask questions of those who know from experiance, use time wisely, save, invest, in time freedom will follow.
Destroy, burn down the system, resist, revolt, go to jail...grow up. You've been played, you made a mistake move on, suck it up.
...my pointlessness is there will always be more young minds (because old people die off) thinking they have a new approach to the same old problems, not until they become old does the realization occur it's a circle game.
Another way of looking at it is that each generation sooner or later has to come around to relearning what their grandparents already knew. Best always. PM
Little Billy is at it again. "Attack" - really Bill? Can you get more obvious in your lies, half-truths and propaganda spewing??
The FACTS are that any of the detained workers whom were here LEGALLY - paperwork, fees paid and approval granted - were released and allowed to return to the project. The ones here ILLEGALLY will be or have already been deported, so cry harder. Hyundai is the entity who selected, employed and paid ALL of these workers - for whatever reason, they abided by the existing Law in some cases and blew it off in others. Pretty simple for anyone with a brain and who is not trying to gaslight and lie in pursuit of pushing a particular agenda, right?
BPR should get a new tagline with a hat tip to Paul Harvey:
Respect, SE — but you’re leaving out some pretty inconvenient details.
ICE didn’t just send home ‘illegals.’ They detained 475, flew 316 Koreans back on a charter, left 145+ Latinos sitting in detention, and even pushed out at least one guy who had a valid visa and broke no rules. Oh, and Hyundai’s $26B U.S. investment just got shoved into 2026.
So yeah, not quite as ‘simple’ as you framed it. I put the full picture (with receipts) into a piece here:
Sorry Lucas, didn’t read it but I’m sure you touched on the fact that the SK Government initially decided to take them all back, then changed their mind. As a result, their citizens that were here legally went back to work on the site.
Sorry again- I have a juicy steak that is cooked and just about done resting…😊
Meh -read it. Nowhere do you mention that the workers, Korean AND Latino, were clearly violating the terms of their B1 Visas for performing Temporary Tasks only. This is called “breaking the law”, no matter how many times you call it a “gray area.”
Lots of good Facts in your article, Lucas. Thanks for posting the link…
Sadly we better prepare for another world currency to replace the dollar. Nixon screwed the country by taking the dollar off the gold standard. Usually over history every 100 years the current world currency is replaced. I’m not sure what will replace the dollar, but something will. I don’t believe that it will be another country. Probably the IMF will come up with a world currency which would be composed of currencies from several countries. That will mark the end to America’s Money printing press. Another option involves some form of crypto currency. We should all prepare for the disaster that will happen in the future. Our standard of living will be greatly reduced. I would like to get feedback as to what people can do to prepare. Gold and silver is one small way. Others???
Why fixate on prepare? What is prepared? Do we know all the variables in order to be prepared? What would have happened in Weimar Germany if every, single German had known exactly what was coming and had prepared? There would still have not been enough to go around. I am all for acknowledging that things never stay the same, that change is in the future, perhaps the near future, but the future. But when and how? We could be totally off with our preparations, could we not? And then what? I have never created enough beyond my immediate situation to prepare to an extent to be free from inconvenience much less harm if things go totally bonkers. I think awareness trumps preparation, as I think true preparation is an illusion. Still, I encourage all to do what allows them to sleep better at night and feel better about the future. Best always. PM
Yes Paul, it once came down to natural selection and survival of the fittest, but these days are very different times and we are living through very different circumstances. As we see with our current Democratic Party, the dumbest and most divisive and corrupt people are in control of some of the most ignorant and dangerous followers, who have no respect for life or themselves. Yet most are allowed to survive from we the productive and honest of society. leftists have turned violence into a virtue. They want an end to their mental suffering, an end to the norm. An end to America. An end to life. There’s no new social order to replace the collapsed one. Just chaos, misery, and death. Pure nihilism. Pure madness. Purely our current democrat party 🤔
Yes, perzackly! How is it even POSSIBLE to talk about preparation when the Left, aka the Democrats are out and about and able to work their perfidy? And we never know what's coming and when, except disaster. Many thanks and best always. PM
You are right, It is very difficult to predict the future BUT having extra currency like silver and gold (in small increments) is a start. Maybe storing some long term food, and as Tim mentioned maybe have a supply of ‘lead’ for protection. AP
Sure, (almost) whatever it takes to buy peace of mind. There is no guarantee. I mean this: I hope you come out exactly where you want to be. Best always. PM
If we prepared to such an extreme, it would mean wisdom predominated and there would be no reason to prepare.
Usually, a good preparation is to do the direct opposite of the prevailing opinion.
Myself, I concentrate on food. I am going to have an MRI tonight and I am accustomed to beans and rice and besides what they say canned food could last 10 or more years. Hydroponics is good. There are many plants that are edible that grow wild as weeds. My daughter makes an excellent sourdough and KimChi. A piece of homemade, home ground sourdough is a meal. Also store up a tin of legacy seeds from Amazon.
Yes. There are others. BS has been the soundest, most rising currency over the last thirty years or more. Ice Attacks. Birthing people people. Green this Green that. Literally, your breathe is a toxic poison to be regulated. Unfortunately, The BS industrial complex is a far greater threat than a military industrial complex.
You'll get no argument from me Bill. You've got it pretty much right. I only wish that everyone would begin to understand that it is the US Dollar itself that is the problem as it is losing value year after year such that it buys less and less (inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomena). The stuff inflation canard is just an attempt to hide the ball on the part of the wealthy and their bought and paid for politicians and Federal Government. It will be a painful transition but the only way forward is with sound money as our Constitution calls for and has been made clear over and over again by history. Hopefully Gen Z grasps this in a way that previous generations have not and seeks to correct the continuing destruction.
I never understood how France had acquired such a huge trade surplus with the US that instigated their exchange of dollars for gold. Thanks Bill for the explanation.
As Soviet Prime Minister predicted, "We will bury you from within". The "We" being the Commies. We're getting awfully close to the six foot mark.
Steve, if France had paid their war debts (two world wars) to the US in gold, France would have ceased to exist as a sovereign nation. Just go to Normandy and see the cemeteries. Monsieur d'Estaing (a then-future president of France) may have pulled what appeared to be a shrewd move in the "Gotcha!" game by calling our bluff, but he was lucky to have ground to stand on or pants to wear. Sometimes, seeing what Europe has become, I ask myself, "Just what were we actually saving?" Final analysis: it's every man for himself. Best always. PM
It is, at most, 25% of "us." They own a treasonous "media" that amplifies the most damaging of the squeakers - though that is slowly changing.
Regardless, the remaining 75% had better realize the war that has been thrust upon them and begin playing Defense AND Offense before it is too late.....
Today's column is like the insane writing about the insanity of today's world. It's like flailing around in a fog, sometimes bumping into something solid, but mostly only seeing a few feet in front of you and not even being concerned with putting together a coherent picture. You know, like telling the TRUTH, the WHOLE truth and NOTHING but the truth. Bongo Bill starts his column by quoting Putin, an apparently benevolent man who has never hurt a flea. Why would he highlight Putin? Maybe because Putin is an enemy of the USA and Bongo's whole message today is that the USA is corrupt and evil along with its allies. Although Bill makes some good points along the way, there is no attempt at balance. The only good seemingly comes from the USA's adversaries from Bongo's view. Not that there is not a lot to criticize. There certainly is. But it should be done fairly and in the total context of the facts. But Bill only uses "facts" that suit his narrative and ignores those that don't. Apparently, he thinks his readers only get their news and analysis from him.
Agreed. Yet this is what we get from the man who so often tells us how good he is a "Connecting the Dots." He turns his pencil around and erases 50%-70% of the dots, does his connecting, THEN writes his missives.....
PS - He's too smart to actually believe anyone still takes him seriously, right? Right??
Too smart? 🤣 Or does he think much of his readership is too ignorant or gullible? Maybe his problem is that he has too many dots to connect - like someone on the verge of a blackout or going under anesthesia
I thought Starboard in his post higher up was going to finish the sentence where he said Bongo "takes his pencil . . . and sticks it in our eyes" (cause I'm not convinced he's connected all that many dots).
Maybe he stuck that pencil in his own eyes such that he doesn't see very well anymore. Whatever it is, he's not the same guy he was when this publishing house was founded.
Not answering for John, but I believe the Putin quote expresses fairly succinctly the situation Putin and others are experiencing. Just because Putin is a ruthless fanatic fixated on the Good Old Days and quixotically focused on recreating them, does not mean he is incapable of verbalizing what he is experiencing in the here and now. That's what makes him both compelling and dangerous. Best always. PM
Mr. Gallien, You nailed it. As a long-time reader of Bill's essays, I can tell you that Bill used to not be like this. Until about late-2023, Bill would take one major issue and spend one, two, or even three essays on it, providing rigorous analysis, while analyzing points made by both sides. Now he just jumps around in each essay on a number of issues.
Two examples from his essay today: (1) Bill acts like the $1T spent annually by the Defense Dept. goes overwhelming to rich fat cats at the top. But this is ridiculous. The Pentagon is the largest U.S.--EMPLOYER--by far. I have read research articles on the internet that indicate it provides full or partial employment for 10M to 20M Americans. This dwarfs Walmart, Amazon, GM, Ford, & Chrysler put together. Unless Bill is suffering from the Biden-Pelosi old-age disease, he knows this is true. And jobs rule in the U.S. Start slashing them via debt reduction and see what happens, especially if you're a politician. Even the Almighty U.S. Fed springs into action when unemployment starts rising rapidly. Look at Argentina with unemployment on the rise. Pres. Milei, trying to right the ship via even more debt reduction, is being regularly overridden in Congress as even his strongest supporters abandon him.
(2) John Carney, Breitbart Financial Analyst, points out that trade runs in both directions. So when folks (like Bill) indicate that only the import-driven U.S. will get hurt with tariffs and other trade measures, Mr. Carney points out that they aren't considering the effect on export-driven countries, especially China, Russia, India, Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc. They are vulnerable, when only trading among themselves, because they have kept wages and benefits down for so many of their workers so they can export so many products at less cost. This means that despite the large number of citizens, the majority don't have the financial means to purchase the products they export. So he said it's way too early to tell how the Trump trade policy will play out, which might be FAR longer and more complicated than Trump trade policy critics (like Bill) point out. Where Mr. Carney differs from Bill is that he ADMITS he could be wrong or partially wrong here. You don't hear this out of the new, wandering-off-the-reservation-at-times Bill Bonner. And this is very sad.
Ice attack? Imagine an american company whose employees were shipped from america to South Korea, illegally. Joe Biden himself bragged of all the new American jobs coming to this plant.
Further, gold compared to the DJIA It is interesting standpost to languish behind. Its the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Gosh how come it sucks? Buy gold.
Well maybe it sucks because over the last three decades our industrial companies have offshored and been consumed by other non american companies.
It's so wonderful that Nippon now owns U S Steel. Is Firestone japanese Our meat processors are largely chinese..... The post could get really long. Buy more gold. It's not over priced everything else is.
Wheneve virtually all commentators say buy gold, and every liberal or conservative pundit says "Buy Gold" Should we really expect the price to go up? I'm not sure. I suggest we all ask the expert... William Devane Bonner.
An easy and simple way to understand the effect of inflation (increase of money in the economy relative to productivity of that economy, not merely "price increases") on the base currency unit is to use the Rule of 72. Divide 72 by the existing (or anticipated) rate of inflation, and the result is how long it takes for inflation to have doubled "prices" or to have halved the value of the currency unit. Example: with current rate of inflation at 3.1%, divide 72 by 3.1 for a quotient of 23.23. At 3.1% inflation, in 23.23 years, the currency will be devalued by 50% and "prices" shall have doubled. Best always. PM
Oh, come on, it's an example, for crying out loud! I don't have a dog in the fight. I don't know nor care what the actual figure is. I had read recently that 3.1% is the FED's figure. Give me any figure, and I can tell you via the Rule of 72 how long it takes for that figure to devalue the currency by half. Best always. PM
It would be useful if Mr. Bonner could look at Robert Malone's 5th Generation Warfare concept. With the influx of large numbers of military age males into the USA (and France) he might alter his opinion of the need for direct invasion. Adding to that the cyber- and biowarfare (Covid and the WHO Pandemic Treaty) in progress he might reflect on Sun Tzu's advice to win war without "fighting."
They will print. Good ol Mark Carnage plans on boosting Canada's economy hoping to bring back much needed jobs
Where 5% of the population can longer feed themselves committing 100s of billions dollars to that effort. The only problem I see, is the ladder is on the wrong roof.
"America’s only real threat is from a missile attack. And only a fraction of the military budget is needed to provide a deterrent."
Hence, the establishment of "The Space Force" with satellite driven capability to monitor and address incoming hypersonic missile threats.
Bill, the oceans of George Washington's days no longer will provide any measure of security and, as you have observed, no longer does a Gold backed currency.
I agree that a "basket of currencies' is to be the worlds' future.
What we need to hear is how we can participate in it without our working population being exploited.
Implied in the "basket of currencies" idea is the reversion to the mean, an evening out of extremes. While I may be wrong, that's just a nice way of saying there is no outright merit in system or idea, but everyone more or less lives the same experience. Keep going in that direction, and we have...communism. Who knew? "From each according to his ability, and to each according to his need." It just hasn't been implemented correctly, don't you know? Best always. PM
I’m no expert in matters of currencies. I simply see the concept of a basket of currencies as somewhat inevitable. The $US as the reserve currency for the world as a relatively modern concept (post WWII), one that is controversial, thus enabling trade barriers to be erected against us and a vestige of a different time where we took on the responsibility of rebuilding the worlds economies. If there is an equal or greater opportunity for stability and a lesser load on the U.S. in a “basket”, I would at least like to explore the concept,
Ed, I get that, and you may be right. But if it is inevitable, let's go into it understanding it for what it is. I think the basket of currencies concept will bring the war on which everyone seems eager to speculate. For its exporting of inflation, the US is deserving of censure and discipline, but the world went along with the game for 60 years for the convenience of US protection. So, now the reckoning. Best always. PM
Probably a far more complex affair than that. The strength or weakness of any given currency, I assume, is tied to its relative rate of inflation. From that perspective, the $US is, relatively speaking, a very stable currency.
Inflation is defined as dollars in circulation, chasing available goods, here a single anchoring currency is certainly easier to track.
The question then shifts to currency volatility and the effect of that volatility within and without sovereign trading nations.
At this point I imagine we need to ask whether a basket of currencies would be helpful in reducing harmful volatility. Harmful in the sense that volatility impacts economic planning in purely capitalistic markets. So far, so good.
Now we address the impact of mixing currencies of free markets with top-down, opaque planned economies. Here things become far more complicated.
Having said this, is there any merit to simply ignoring the actions of BRIC nations attempting to establish an alternative to the $US? As a general rule in life, I've always tried to at least maintain a general sense of what is coming down. Seems foolish not to.
Wondering now if Bill, Dan and Tom would have any thoughts on the subject.
Paul, I assign us no guilt for exporting inflation as I also note that we exported quite a bit of lifeline as well. However, I just would like to entertain - games theory out if you will - what longer term benefits may exist with a basket of currencies for world trade. The world has evolved to be so much “smaller” with services and manufacturing so much more disbursed and specialized since the time of recovery from WWII and Bretton-Woods that I would be surprised if some modifications wouldn’t be in order- and mutually beneficial as well. Bill Bonner would be far better advised to share his perspective on these such matters than to wallow in the mimetic muck with the TDS crowd.
If not for public education and academia controlling the flow of historical data, we'd have no need to relive the experiment of fake money every hundred years of so. The same can be said for the systems of socialism and communism. We don't learn from history because academia and government profit from the ignorance of the people.
Don't blame the fiscal experiments on academia.
Youth conclude they can solve the problems of the elders.
...at any given time, there are always more young minds than the elders.
My grandfather spent his last 12 years in our home where he related in his youth attending school to the 8th grade prepared a young man to enter the world, where he'd receive the rest of his education in the workplace. With only a junior high level a student could read, write legibly, spell, write a sentence, solve mathematical equations, and probably drive a stick shift. Accordingly, students were taught rational thinking and decision making and civics.
In comparison a high number todays's high school graduates are ill equipped to do much of anything except take up space in college. These will graduate with vaguely markable skills, most will have crushing debt. Few will ever purchase a car, home, fewer still will ever in own a home or car free and clear of debt.
The problem with academia in general it no longer seeks out professors with real world experience or knowledge. The faculty in most universities consist of former students who've never left the educational process, they study under similar people learning the same old rehashed and failed ideas.
I don't blame the youth rebelling against the current system. They've been taught by their academic slave masters to attack the system that is their only salvation.
They should have learned; the world owes you nothing, work, learn, make smart decisions, ask questions of those who know from experiance, use time wisely, save, invest, in time freedom will follow.
Destroy, burn down the system, resist, revolt, go to jail...grow up. You've been played, you made a mistake move on, suck it up.
Angry, I don't get it. Are you suggesting that the youth are running this show? And if not academia, where do all those FED Phds come from?
...my pointlessness is there will always be more young minds (because old people die off) thinking they have a new approach to the same old problems, not until they become old does the realization occur it's a circle game.
Another way of looking at it is that each generation sooner or later has to come around to relearning what their grandparents already knew. Best always. PM
True providing they survive that long.
You nailed it!
"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘊𝘌 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘪’𝘴 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘒𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘚 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘜𝘚 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥."
Little Billy is at it again. "Attack" - really Bill? Can you get more obvious in your lies, half-truths and propaganda spewing??
The FACTS are that any of the detained workers whom were here LEGALLY - paperwork, fees paid and approval granted - were released and allowed to return to the project. The ones here ILLEGALLY will be or have already been deported, so cry harder. Hyundai is the entity who selected, employed and paid ALL of these workers - for whatever reason, they abided by the existing Law in some cases and blew it off in others. Pretty simple for anyone with a brain and who is not trying to gaslight and lie in pursuit of pushing a particular agenda, right?
BPR should get a new tagline with a hat tip to Paul Harvey:
"Now, for half of the rest of the story....."
I seem to recall Hyundai and Governor Kemp bragging about how the plant would be providing a large number of jobs to the citizens of Georgia.
Apparently, not so much.
No looking backward in today’s environment..,
Hilarious Brother, freakin' hilarious.
You are an absolute thorn in Bongo Bill's side. 😂
Respect, SE — but you’re leaving out some pretty inconvenient details.
ICE didn’t just send home ‘illegals.’ They detained 475, flew 316 Koreans back on a charter, left 145+ Latinos sitting in detention, and even pushed out at least one guy who had a valid visa and broke no rules. Oh, and Hyundai’s $26B U.S. investment just got shoved into 2026.
So yeah, not quite as ‘simple’ as you framed it. I put the full picture (with receipts) into a piece here:
👉 https://lucaskandia.substack.com/p/when-allies-get-treated-like-enemies
Thought Paul Harvey would appreciate the rest of the story.
Sorry Lucas, didn’t read it but I’m sure you touched on the fact that the SK Government initially decided to take them all back, then changed their mind. As a result, their citizens that were here legally went back to work on the site.
Sorry again- I have a juicy steak that is cooked and just about done resting…😊
Meh -read it. Nowhere do you mention that the workers, Korean AND Latino, were clearly violating the terms of their B1 Visas for performing Temporary Tasks only. This is called “breaking the law”, no matter how many times you call it a “gray area.”
Lots of good Facts in your article, Lucas. Thanks for posting the link…
Sadly we better prepare for another world currency to replace the dollar. Nixon screwed the country by taking the dollar off the gold standard. Usually over history every 100 years the current world currency is replaced. I’m not sure what will replace the dollar, but something will. I don’t believe that it will be another country. Probably the IMF will come up with a world currency which would be composed of currencies from several countries. That will mark the end to America’s Money printing press. Another option involves some form of crypto currency. We should all prepare for the disaster that will happen in the future. Our standard of living will be greatly reduced. I would like to get feedback as to what people can do to prepare. Gold and silver is one small way. Others???
Food and lead?
That’s one way
Why fixate on prepare? What is prepared? Do we know all the variables in order to be prepared? What would have happened in Weimar Germany if every, single German had known exactly what was coming and had prepared? There would still have not been enough to go around. I am all for acknowledging that things never stay the same, that change is in the future, perhaps the near future, but the future. But when and how? We could be totally off with our preparations, could we not? And then what? I have never created enough beyond my immediate situation to prepare to an extent to be free from inconvenience much less harm if things go totally bonkers. I think awareness trumps preparation, as I think true preparation is an illusion. Still, I encourage all to do what allows them to sleep better at night and feel better about the future. Best always. PM
Yes Paul, it once came down to natural selection and survival of the fittest, but these days are very different times and we are living through very different circumstances. As we see with our current Democratic Party, the dumbest and most divisive and corrupt people are in control of some of the most ignorant and dangerous followers, who have no respect for life or themselves. Yet most are allowed to survive from we the productive and honest of society. leftists have turned violence into a virtue. They want an end to their mental suffering, an end to the norm. An end to America. An end to life. There’s no new social order to replace the collapsed one. Just chaos, misery, and death. Pure nihilism. Pure madness. Purely our current democrat party 🤔
Yes, perzackly! How is it even POSSIBLE to talk about preparation when the Left, aka the Democrats are out and about and able to work their perfidy? And we never know what's coming and when, except disaster. Many thanks and best always. PM
Paul:
You are right, It is very difficult to predict the future BUT having extra currency like silver and gold (in small increments) is a start. Maybe storing some long term food, and as Tim mentioned maybe have a supply of ‘lead’ for protection. AP
Sure, (almost) whatever it takes to buy peace of mind. There is no guarantee. I mean this: I hope you come out exactly where you want to be. Best always. PM
If we prepared to such an extreme, it would mean wisdom predominated and there would be no reason to prepare.
Usually, a good preparation is to do the direct opposite of the prevailing opinion.
Myself, I concentrate on food. I am going to have an MRI tonight and I am accustomed to beans and rice and besides what they say canned food could last 10 or more years. Hydroponics is good. There are many plants that are edible that grow wild as weeds. My daughter makes an excellent sourdough and KimChi. A piece of homemade, home ground sourdough is a meal. Also store up a tin of legacy seeds from Amazon.
Yes. There are others. BS has been the soundest, most rising currency over the last thirty years or more. Ice Attacks. Birthing people people. Green this Green that. Literally, your breathe is a toxic poison to be regulated. Unfortunately, The BS industrial complex is a far greater threat than a military industrial complex.
You will want to get away from all population centers.
You'll get no argument from me Bill. You've got it pretty much right. I only wish that everyone would begin to understand that it is the US Dollar itself that is the problem as it is losing value year after year such that it buys less and less (inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomena). The stuff inflation canard is just an attempt to hide the ball on the part of the wealthy and their bought and paid for politicians and Federal Government. It will be a painful transition but the only way forward is with sound money as our Constitution calls for and has been made clear over and over again by history. Hopefully Gen Z grasps this in a way that previous generations have not and seeks to correct the continuing destruction.
I never understood how France had acquired such a huge trade surplus with the US that instigated their exchange of dollars for gold. Thanks Bill for the explanation.
As Soviet Prime Minister predicted, "We will bury you from within". The "We" being the Commies. We're getting awfully close to the six foot mark.
We have seen the enemy and it is us.
Steve, if France had paid their war debts (two world wars) to the US in gold, France would have ceased to exist as a sovereign nation. Just go to Normandy and see the cemeteries. Monsieur d'Estaing (a then-future president of France) may have pulled what appeared to be a shrewd move in the "Gotcha!" game by calling our bluff, but he was lucky to have ground to stand on or pants to wear. Sometimes, seeing what Europe has become, I ask myself, "Just what were we actually saving?" Final analysis: it's every man for himself. Best always. PM
It is, at most, 25% of "us." They own a treasonous "media" that amplifies the most damaging of the squeakers - though that is slowly changing.
Regardless, the remaining 75% had better realize the war that has been thrust upon them and begin playing Defense AND Offense before it is too late.....
Today's column is like the insane writing about the insanity of today's world. It's like flailing around in a fog, sometimes bumping into something solid, but mostly only seeing a few feet in front of you and not even being concerned with putting together a coherent picture. You know, like telling the TRUTH, the WHOLE truth and NOTHING but the truth. Bongo Bill starts his column by quoting Putin, an apparently benevolent man who has never hurt a flea. Why would he highlight Putin? Maybe because Putin is an enemy of the USA and Bongo's whole message today is that the USA is corrupt and evil along with its allies. Although Bill makes some good points along the way, there is no attempt at balance. The only good seemingly comes from the USA's adversaries from Bongo's view. Not that there is not a lot to criticize. There certainly is. But it should be done fairly and in the total context of the facts. But Bill only uses "facts" that suit his narrative and ignores those that don't. Apparently, he thinks his readers only get their news and analysis from him.
Agreed. Yet this is what we get from the man who so often tells us how good he is a "Connecting the Dots." He turns his pencil around and erases 50%-70% of the dots, does his connecting, THEN writes his missives.....
PS - He's too smart to actually believe anyone still takes him seriously, right? Right??
I don't know, Joe Biden still thinks he's the smartest guy in the room, in every room he's in, even when he doesn't know what room he's in.
Too smart? 🤣 Or does he think much of his readership is too ignorant or gullible? Maybe his problem is that he has too many dots to connect - like someone on the verge of a blackout or going under anesthesia
I thought Starboard in his post higher up was going to finish the sentence where he said Bongo "takes his pencil . . . and sticks it in our eyes" (cause I'm not convinced he's connected all that many dots).
Good point. The only dots he thinks he's connecting are the ones he sees just before he passes out.
Maybe he stuck that pencil in his own eyes such that he doesn't see very well anymore. Whatever it is, he's not the same guy he was when this publishing house was founded.
John, do you have an issue with the content of the Putin quote, or just the source?
Not answering for John, but I believe the Putin quote expresses fairly succinctly the situation Putin and others are experiencing. Just because Putin is a ruthless fanatic fixated on the Good Old Days and quixotically focused on recreating them, does not mean he is incapable of verbalizing what he is experiencing in the here and now. That's what makes him both compelling and dangerous. Best always. PM
Mr. Gallien, You nailed it. As a long-time reader of Bill's essays, I can tell you that Bill used to not be like this. Until about late-2023, Bill would take one major issue and spend one, two, or even three essays on it, providing rigorous analysis, while analyzing points made by both sides. Now he just jumps around in each essay on a number of issues.
Two examples from his essay today: (1) Bill acts like the $1T spent annually by the Defense Dept. goes overwhelming to rich fat cats at the top. But this is ridiculous. The Pentagon is the largest U.S.--EMPLOYER--by far. I have read research articles on the internet that indicate it provides full or partial employment for 10M to 20M Americans. This dwarfs Walmart, Amazon, GM, Ford, & Chrysler put together. Unless Bill is suffering from the Biden-Pelosi old-age disease, he knows this is true. And jobs rule in the U.S. Start slashing them via debt reduction and see what happens, especially if you're a politician. Even the Almighty U.S. Fed springs into action when unemployment starts rising rapidly. Look at Argentina with unemployment on the rise. Pres. Milei, trying to right the ship via even more debt reduction, is being regularly overridden in Congress as even his strongest supporters abandon him.
(2) John Carney, Breitbart Financial Analyst, points out that trade runs in both directions. So when folks (like Bill) indicate that only the import-driven U.S. will get hurt with tariffs and other trade measures, Mr. Carney points out that they aren't considering the effect on export-driven countries, especially China, Russia, India, Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc. They are vulnerable, when only trading among themselves, because they have kept wages and benefits down for so many of their workers so they can export so many products at less cost. This means that despite the large number of citizens, the majority don't have the financial means to purchase the products they export. So he said it's way too early to tell how the Trump trade policy will play out, which might be FAR longer and more complicated than Trump trade policy critics (like Bill) point out. Where Mr. Carney differs from Bill is that he ADMITS he could be wrong or partially wrong here. You don't hear this out of the new, wandering-off-the-reservation-at-times Bill Bonner. And this is very sad.
Ice attack? Imagine an american company whose employees were shipped from america to South Korea, illegally. Joe Biden himself bragged of all the new American jobs coming to this plant.
Further, gold compared to the DJIA It is interesting standpost to languish behind. Its the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Gosh how come it sucks? Buy gold.
Well maybe it sucks because over the last three decades our industrial companies have offshored and been consumed by other non american companies.
It's so wonderful that Nippon now owns U S Steel. Is Firestone japanese Our meat processors are largely chinese..... The post could get really long. Buy more gold. It's not over priced everything else is.
Wheneve virtually all commentators say buy gold, and every liberal or conservative pundit says "Buy Gold" Should we really expect the price to go up? I'm not sure. I suggest we all ask the expert... William Devane Bonner.
An easy and simple way to understand the effect of inflation (increase of money in the economy relative to productivity of that economy, not merely "price increases") on the base currency unit is to use the Rule of 72. Divide 72 by the existing (or anticipated) rate of inflation, and the result is how long it takes for inflation to have doubled "prices" or to have halved the value of the currency unit. Example: with current rate of inflation at 3.1%, divide 72 by 3.1 for a quotient of 23.23. At 3.1% inflation, in 23.23 years, the currency will be devalued by 50% and "prices" shall have doubled. Best always. PM
That 3.1% you are using in this example is subject to debate Paul. Gold is showing us that prices will increase at a much, much higher rate.
Oh, come on, it's an example, for crying out loud! I don't have a dog in the fight. I don't know nor care what the actual figure is. I had read recently that 3.1% is the FED's figure. Give me any figure, and I can tell you via the Rule of 72 how long it takes for that figure to devalue the currency by half. Best always. PM
Yes, watch out for the nitpickers. Like the guy who asked me if I had a problem with the Putin quote or just the source.... I refuse to answer.
23 years to double is a poor example. That is all. The rule of 72 is just fine.
It would be useful if Mr. Bonner could look at Robert Malone's 5th Generation Warfare concept. With the influx of large numbers of military age males into the USA (and France) he might alter his opinion of the need for direct invasion. Adding to that the cyber- and biowarfare (Covid and the WHO Pandemic Treaty) in progress he might reflect on Sun Tzu's advice to win war without "fighting."
By any other name its still fiat.
They will print. Good ol Mark Carnage plans on boosting Canada's economy hoping to bring back much needed jobs
Where 5% of the population can longer feed themselves committing 100s of billions dollars to that effort. The only problem I see, is the ladder is on the wrong roof.
I am listening to Chernow’s “Mark Twain.” You can take heart, his opinion of Congress, in 1869, was a low as he ever got.
The good old days were the same.
They have coalesced around a big stupidity, “The Warfare State;” it has gobbled up everything…even our minds.
It would be a day of dancing around the world and in heaven if it died but it would mean the death of over half of all Americans.
"America’s only real threat is from a missile attack. And only a fraction of the military budget is needed to provide a deterrent."
Hence, the establishment of "The Space Force" with satellite driven capability to monitor and address incoming hypersonic missile threats.
Bill, the oceans of George Washington's days no longer will provide any measure of security and, as you have observed, no longer does a Gold backed currency.
I agree that a "basket of currencies' is to be the worlds' future.
What we need to hear is how we can participate in it without our working population being exploited.
Implied in the "basket of currencies" idea is the reversion to the mean, an evening out of extremes. While I may be wrong, that's just a nice way of saying there is no outright merit in system or idea, but everyone more or less lives the same experience. Keep going in that direction, and we have...communism. Who knew? "From each according to his ability, and to each according to his need." It just hasn't been implemented correctly, don't you know? Best always. PM
I’m no expert in matters of currencies. I simply see the concept of a basket of currencies as somewhat inevitable. The $US as the reserve currency for the world as a relatively modern concept (post WWII), one that is controversial, thus enabling trade barriers to be erected against us and a vestige of a different time where we took on the responsibility of rebuilding the worlds economies. If there is an equal or greater opportunity for stability and a lesser load on the U.S. in a “basket”, I would at least like to explore the concept,
Ed, I get that, and you may be right. But if it is inevitable, let's go into it understanding it for what it is. I think the basket of currencies concept will bring the war on which everyone seems eager to speculate. For its exporting of inflation, the US is deserving of censure and discipline, but the world went along with the game for 60 years for the convenience of US protection. So, now the reckoning. Best always. PM
Isn't a basket of currencies nothing more than a basket of useless paper.... or soon will be?
Probably a far more complex affair than that. The strength or weakness of any given currency, I assume, is tied to its relative rate of inflation. From that perspective, the $US is, relatively speaking, a very stable currency.
Inflation is defined as dollars in circulation, chasing available goods, here a single anchoring currency is certainly easier to track.
The question then shifts to currency volatility and the effect of that volatility within and without sovereign trading nations.
At this point I imagine we need to ask whether a basket of currencies would be helpful in reducing harmful volatility. Harmful in the sense that volatility impacts economic planning in purely capitalistic markets. So far, so good.
Now we address the impact of mixing currencies of free markets with top-down, opaque planned economies. Here things become far more complicated.
Having said this, is there any merit to simply ignoring the actions of BRIC nations attempting to establish an alternative to the $US? As a general rule in life, I've always tried to at least maintain a general sense of what is coming down. Seems foolish not to.
Wondering now if Bill, Dan and Tom would have any thoughts on the subject.
Paul, I assign us no guilt for exporting inflation as I also note that we exported quite a bit of lifeline as well. However, I just would like to entertain - games theory out if you will - what longer term benefits may exist with a basket of currencies for world trade. The world has evolved to be so much “smaller” with services and manufacturing so much more disbursed and specialized since the time of recovery from WWII and Bretton-Woods that I would be surprised if some modifications wouldn’t be in order- and mutually beneficial as well. Bill Bonner would be far better advised to share his perspective on these such matters than to wallow in the mimetic muck with the TDS crowd.
Waiting on a rare earth currency, hopefully the charity of mutual energy survival.
Love it. Couple Rare Earths with Quantum Volume (QV) and THAT would be a solid backing for real money.....
https://postquantum.com/quantum-computing/quantum-computing-benchmarks/
Funny how the bounce in the S&P doesn't look anything like the "bounce" in the DJI/gold ratio in 2025.