The feds are now squandering so much of the nation’s output that it has become very difficult for anyone to get ahead. That’s why they have gotten zero real wage increases in the last half a century.
I wish DOGE the best of luck, but rather than focusing on cutting spending, I would prefer that they focus on exposing regulatory capture, that is, the manner in which agencies which were established to regulate a given industry are now controlled by that industry. Whether it is the FDA/CDC that are now run by big pharma, the USDA which serves the interests of Big Agriculture, or numerous other examples, these connections need to be publicized widely. Especially how most legislation is written by lobbyists, to the benefit of their employers.
Cutting spending so as to balance the budget is, according to my analysis, impossible, so long as Social Security and Medicare are held as untouchable. I would love to be proven wrong, though!
Agree 100%. This is in fact all they can do - shine a bright light on the grifting and corruption, which is all there is. It’s not like they have to go looking for it. Ray Charles could have seen it. I think they should announce on January 21st that they are bringing back Senator Proxmitre’s Golden Fleece awards, only this time on steroids. Make a late night show out of it, with real world examples that get a big dose of stand up comedy(yes it works in a way that being serious never can) and skit parody. Hold an annual Golden Fleece Pageant where the star criminals are pilloried by mimicry. Have the Left screaming “Misinformation!” and calling out their censorship dogs like never before. This will be the sign that it’s working. Leave the rest up to history.
"Cutting spending so as to balance the budget is, according to my analysis, impossible, so long as Social Security and Medicare are held as untouchable."
With respect, how does one make a statement like that while Milei is doing it - has done it - in a matter of months.
You're old? Your sick? How do we sleep at night eating our young with Social Security and Welfare debts? That's just heartless, and needless.
This is not rocket science. "There is no money!"
It is not matter of brilliance and complexity. Merely a matter of will. And the will starts in our individual lives and homes, decimating spending and paying off all debt, building stores of capital.
Simple.
Intelligent families in all the Americas and around the world are moving in with family, eliminating mortgage ("death-grip") and home rentals, living in more cozy quarters, stocking up and eating simpler, cheaper, delicious, healthier foods. Exercising in their own grocery garden/mini-orchard rather than costly "exercise" programs and lawns. Trading in the $50,000 car for a $20,000 car with no debt.
Jonathon, As I noted at the end, I would love to be proven wrong, but I doubt that I will be. The people in the US are not nearly as desperate as the population of Argentina were when they elected Milei, and far too many in the US still have far too much confidence that the government can fix everything.
The best those of us can do who see all this coming is just what you described: Take steps to get out of debt, find a community of like-minded people, and become self-sufficient. I salute you, and wish to see many, MANY more like you.
I hate to be the harbinger of bad news, but if the EPA is not scrapped along with the entire Green Movement, life in the Western world will become impossible, and at the least a bit more dangerous.
Saving energy, water, etc is pointless in the face of inflation, while doing so is very costly.and will soon be cost prohibitive. For example: The gas boiler in my home is 82% efficient and circa 1986 to date no part in the boiler has failed except a $5 thermocouple.
My neighbor seeking to be Green and save energy removed his working boiler also installed in 1986. The new 94% efficiency boiler garnered a $1500 Federal tax credit, $300 from the utility company but cost $20k. Fast forward to this year and three boilers later he now has $63k invested over the same period in boilers. This is not to mention each year the boiler needs $500 worth of maintenance and all ways seems to fail on a cold day or some holiday with a house full of guests.
January of this year to save the planet all refrigerants in the West will be replaced with semi flammable products. Not to worry if the coils develop leaks inside the home a detector will turn on the fan to dilute the gas. Whether or not any given the technician follows safe refrigeration practices is yet to be seen. I suppose after a few fellows end up in the hospital or the morgue this will change.
I guess we'll learn if these refrigerants cause any health effects down the road. The good part for the manufacturers, every piece of existing equipment will have to be replaced including the furnace.
As Kermit the frog famously quipped "It's Good to be Green!"
My opinion from trenches: "I'm just here for the gasoline."
I hope you were able to grab the neighbor’s 1986 boiler! I changed out my home’s 30+ year old furnace with a more efficient model (plus central AC). The contractor knew the old working unit was of high quality and offered to “haul it away”. Like yours, the only thing it ever needed was a thermocouple. I told him I was keeping it as a back-up, for the time the new, monstrously complex furnace was no longer repairable.
I have saved the old electric "boost heater" from my heat pump system to heat my garage/shop. It needed to be changed when the 25 year old heat pump died, due to the change of refrigerant chemical.
That one drawback is the reason DuPont invented CFCs, giving us R-12, aka Freon, which worked like crazy, and thereby caused its own eventual demise. Best llways. PM
I’m so old that I remember going to an evening talk at the dorm commons by an obscure professor (chemistry, I think) who was claiming that Freon was destroying the ozone layer. About 10 people showed up. I guess he eventually made a strong enough argument, as he wound up getting a Nobel Prize for his work (back when it meant something). It was about 1975, UC Irvine. Rowland something was the professor, can’t remember his last name.
Freon goes back to the late 1920s. It was a response to the "modern" demand for refrigeration. The idea was to have a non-flammable, safe (haha) gas for the compression required. Even though Freon was non-flammable, it's use was still dangerous due to the high-pressures required in refrigeration. Best always. PM
And, if memory serves me from an old book about technology, the same guy that invented Freon also brought us tetraethyl lead! Oh well, I’m sure his intentions were good.
You have become a sinical old man, where is it that Trump said this? "And Trump pledged to protect both of them", more bluster, more negativity, certainly not the powerhouse guiding newsletter it was when i joined a few years ago. Unlike you i can prove the following which I'll say again, ALL you do is bitch. Didn't hear much complaining as Biden and the giggler further the country on the path to ruin, oh, but then again the disease has not been identified. You sir offer nothing constructive, and have a severe case of TDS.
I know Chet! Trump isn’t even in office yet and Bill is knocking things that have not even happened yet! Four years of total leftist lunacy and all Bill could do is push gold and demonize Bitcoin 🤔. He holds an absolute record for being sooo wrong on sooo much! But to all my fellow crypto millionaires, congratulations on not paying one bit of attention with this nonsense, and using your own logic to become very wealthy 😊 and we all know how the left lacks any logic!
Interesting analysis as always but coming from someone who has obviously made millions and millions and millions selling investment advice or providing a platform for others to sell investment advice. Has that advice provided a net gain to the world? Of course some of that advice has led to losses but the seller of the advice did not lose out - just the poor(er) investors.
Does that make Bill a parasite? Living off selling info to others? Kevin Johnson is that parasitic? What is produced? Only an investment opinion, some may profit and some may lose.
And surely when Programs/Personnel begin getting cut and money stops being wasted you'll be the first to acknowledge it and tell us all about it on this substack. Fat Chance - but thanks for the glimpse of personal bitterness that fills you now and will only get worse when Trump & Company begin accomplishing the things you were not able to. Prediction: You will soon be telling us how the wrong things are getting cut and/or the cuts don't go far enough or deep enough - while simultaneously providing precisely ZERO suggestions or solutions.
Do you hear yourself? You would be hard-pressed to come off more envious or petty than you did with this statement. It is stunning how you can reach these conclusions about Musk's career and contributions so far and says way, WAY more about you than it does about him. THAT is a fact.
Your Hatred for all things Trump is rapidly escalating into an orgy of Irrationality and translating into a position that sounds astonishingly like one that does not WANT America or any of the new Administration to succeed. News flash, Bill - we can get that garbage from any mainstream "media" source. The missive today was straight-up pathetic and not worthy of anyone's time or energy. Like the rest of the dimocrats and "elite", you would seem to prefer the Country continue declining rather than be proven wrong or inadequate. Remarkable.
Maybe you should reread what you wrote today and ask yourself "What, 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆, did my readers get from these words that actually benefits them, their families or their lives?"
I know how I would answer that...
PS - Social Security is NOT an "entitlement" to those of us who have had that money stolen from our paychecks year after year...
Agree with your assessment 100%. Sad but true. However, us boaters near you on the Chesapeake are really thankful to Elon for Starlink. 100Meg internet speeds anywhere in the world at a reasonable cost. Life changing for boaters! And note, the Biden bucks paid for my local utility company to run fiber down my half mile driveway at no cost to me. Cost to the taxpayers: Easily 20K for my driveway alone. Could have done it with Starlink for under $1000, but Elon was not friendly with The Biden Crime family, thus Starlink got none of the broadband subsidies. Watch what happens next!
Good Lord! How do you even get out of bed every morning? Your posts are so relentlessly negative and pessimistic that they’re mentally exhausting. Take a walk in the woods, watch a sunrise—find something, anything, that reminds you life isn’t all doom and gloom.
I say this with all due respect: you’re a gifted writer with a sharp intellect, but you need a serious reboot.
To me a gifted writer is someone who not only writes well but also has something worthwhile and insightful to say. The second part is missing. Dyson and Denning are why I'm here, not Bad News Bonner.
So, Bill, you FAILED Fifty years past and now you think people you dislike for some reason should not try. Your personal problem is not achieving any good. The people working for (with) BPR, do a great job. Maybe you should not write and go fishing.
Truly remarkable. So many with their heads so far up their backside they need a glass eye in their belly button. They not only buy the propaganda but relish in it. MAGA is going to save America and the world. All rise for the MAGA. Unfortunately, Boys, it ain't going to happen. Keep wishin' and hopin' but you'll continue to be disappointed. Neither Trump nor Musk nor Ramaswamy are going to drain the swamp. Nice to think about but Really? Seriously? You need another mRNA shot. Ol' Bill gets called a "Dummkopfen" when he is just pointing out the truth. Hard world we inhabit.
Yeah, get off my lawn! Everything sucks! Everything will always suck! No point in trying to desuck everything. Have I told you about my cool gypsy trailer? When it hits a fan you might need a nice place to live. I'm tired i'm going to bed....
Maybe but it’s not whether it’s going to save America but will it make it better for the next guy to continue the fight. At least Trump will not be fighting fabricated impeachment proceedings in his first 2 years like last time. He will be able to focus on the problems with a chance to correct some of them. There are too many deep state Representatives and Senators to beat them all but progress towards rooting out some of the corruption is a plus.
So, you think things would be more promising had Kamelface Harris and Tampon Tim won? A Democrat majority? Sounds that way. Truly remarkable, indeed.
For me, I’m hopeful that the Trump administration can roll back the leftism instigated by BarryO and Obiden, but reality tells me not to get my hopes up.
So Kevin, where’s the parasite part come in? Trump built stuff and took advantage of the laws in place to succeed as a developer. Elon is a creator of first legitimate electric car and SpaceX which the current administration hired to rescue astronauts stranded on the space station, created star link which benefits people/customers, and digging tunnels to relieve traffic also benefiting society. And you call them parasites??? Would love to know what you do or retired from? I will hitch my horses to the new administration until I see something that shows I am wrong.
Yes I'm sure Elon and Vivek milked the system or at least played it. But their achievements are pretty significant given the playing field. So now with a pretty good understanding of the playing field can they cut costs and improve the damn thing? I usually think I'm brilliant but I can't think of anything better to do. Personally if I was in their position I would remove the corruption if possible.. It's a start. Kennedy that "crazy" person is my man. Attack where you know there is corruption. In the case of Vivek and Elon they can attack where they know the game.
Musk carries water for In-Q-Tel and his "inventions" were stolen, just like Zuckerberg and his Facebook heist.. As Bill points out, Ramaswampy made his millions via high-octane grifting. And as POTUS Trump is merely paying off the debts he incurred when his real estate investments collapsed back in the 80s. These guys aren't heroes. If you want a hero fix, read Greek Mythology.
Not looking for a hero. I have one in Jesus. And you think President Trump is paying back some people from 40 years ago??? Think you have TDS ……. Just saying.
You do realize that Presidents make only about half a million dollars a year and in Trump's case he donated it all to charity. Exactly which debts is he paying off "as POTUS"?
Well said Bill! And the newest twist is the proposed NASA head. Also from the same mold and will oversee his buddy Musks billion dollar grants. Changing of the guard I guess but no real change
I don’t know anything but what I read, but, it seems Musk has taken over for NASSA, cheaper. EV’s will eventually take over the market when the full breath of technology is utilized and Musk was there first. He also created the best battery. Everyone uses his charger. How about he spent 40 billion giving America free speech.
Musk in particular has done some amazing things with SpaceX. Incredible amount of payload successfully launched and more power and smaller footprint on the boosters.
Was it done efficiently could someone have done quicker easier and cheaper, maybe but, they have done it. Talk is cheap while doing it is significantly more expensive and harder.
Yes. He is at least able to find businesses that are on the move and significant. I can't think of a better person than he and Vivek to do this. Vivek has, every time I've heard him speak, seen exactly they way I view all these issues. They obht seem brilliant to me.
OK well name the best person in America to understand the swamp and how to change it!
I guess I'd choose a couple billionaires. Maybe I'd mix Bill in there with Elon and Vivek. Although after Bill's comments I suspect there would be more negativity, usually a bad combination. And to further describe my position, I'm not betting on either one or both of them together and maybe that's what Bill is saying.
One more comment: Whatever they remove of the government I would gladly take it and thank God that for a reduction in central planning parasitic hangers on. That glorious incompetence, hubris and belief that some smart men can make the economy better through their controls. I'm hoping they come up with simply less invovlement and less control.
Mr. Mackinac, I think you have exactly the right idea here. I hope that Elon and Vivek will do this. I think this will be the best way to save some serious money without massively cutting employment (voters) in a major way, which is politically tricky. The emphasis should be on taking the time to really study the federal government, especially how it hinders business of all sizes with its many regulations.
Elon and Vivek and their enormous staffs should set up an interview system where they find out from the various business associations (most are probably already in metro-DC) what is hindering their member businesses. Then they should record these complaints, then interview the thousands of federal govt. bureaucrats who sign off on these regulations. Even if govt. rules don't allow them to recommend firing all or many these folks, they can move them to do-nothing jobs, then provide a long list of recommended actions to the Trump Admin. and Congress to modify or remove these onerous regulations. DOGE folks can also work with the Commerce, Energy, SBA, & Justice Dept.'s to help them with get through this entire process as smoothly and quickly as possible.
I think DOGE's mandate is misunderstood by many Americans. I don't think they can enforce anything. But they can get other departments to do the removals and modifications with their recommendations as well present a coherent program that has a good chance to get through the House and especially the swampy, egotistical Senate.
I think the biggest roadblock could be President Trump. He was overly confrontational with Congress in 2017. I know he had RINO weasels leading Congress then, but he was woefully inexperienced in dealing with govt. people like them. I think his senior advisors need to convince him to use his negotiating skills this time around in 2025 to PERSUADE them, especially 53 GOP Senators, who think they are mini-Gods (i.e., 53 out of a population of 330M--e.g, look at Sen. Ernst's recent egotistical groping for Defense Sec.) to pass the reg removals his administration can't legally do on their own. Although his administration should be able to remove most of them on their own. And there are GOP House members who will need some convincing. Even if he has to have lunch with each of the 273 (220 + 53), it will be worth it if he's serious about this in 2025.
I don't know what the process should be. Don't want to think about it. I hope the Trump team has insight and builds a process. If they don't do something we will no longer be a viable republic. The debt will cause a collapse. These Senators and House need to face reality that just paying more money to buy votes to produce central planning with 200T in debt is a failure but my guess is that they will not face reality.
Have to hope, a little. We have not, in a long time chosen the best for these elected positions as the best would never put themselves through it. Musk is at a least a good start and has done some impressive things. Not all because of him but, has an ability to put great unheard of people in a good position to succeed.
Not sure about Vivek, but I think you underestimate Musk. Musk has Starlink, Tesla, and X as proof that he is more than a clever bean counter. Maybe not enough to get past the looming fiscal black hole, but worth giving it a try when nothing better has turned up.
I wish DOGE the best of luck, but rather than focusing on cutting spending, I would prefer that they focus on exposing regulatory capture, that is, the manner in which agencies which were established to regulate a given industry are now controlled by that industry. Whether it is the FDA/CDC that are now run by big pharma, the USDA which serves the interests of Big Agriculture, or numerous other examples, these connections need to be publicized widely. Especially how most legislation is written by lobbyists, to the benefit of their employers.
Cutting spending so as to balance the budget is, according to my analysis, impossible, so long as Social Security and Medicare are held as untouchable. I would love to be proven wrong, though!
Agree 100%. This is in fact all they can do - shine a bright light on the grifting and corruption, which is all there is. It’s not like they have to go looking for it. Ray Charles could have seen it. I think they should announce on January 21st that they are bringing back Senator Proxmitre’s Golden Fleece awards, only this time on steroids. Make a late night show out of it, with real world examples that get a big dose of stand up comedy(yes it works in a way that being serious never can) and skit parody. Hold an annual Golden Fleece Pageant where the star criminals are pilloried by mimicry. Have the Left screaming “Misinformation!” and calling out their censorship dogs like never before. This will be the sign that it’s working. Leave the rest up to history.
"Cutting spending so as to balance the budget is, according to my analysis, impossible, so long as Social Security and Medicare are held as untouchable."
With respect, how does one make a statement like that while Milei is doing it - has done it - in a matter of months.
You're old? Your sick? How do we sleep at night eating our young with Social Security and Welfare debts? That's just heartless, and needless.
This is not rocket science. "There is no money!"
It is not matter of brilliance and complexity. Merely a matter of will. And the will starts in our individual lives and homes, decimating spending and paying off all debt, building stores of capital.
Simple.
Intelligent families in all the Americas and around the world are moving in with family, eliminating mortgage ("death-grip") and home rentals, living in more cozy quarters, stocking up and eating simpler, cheaper, delicious, healthier foods. Exercising in their own grocery garden/mini-orchard rather than costly "exercise" programs and lawns. Trading in the $50,000 car for a $20,000 car with no debt.
Simple. Non-negotiable.
We have done that. It feels wonderful every day.
Choose capital, eschew debt like the plague.
Jonathon, As I noted at the end, I would love to be proven wrong, but I doubt that I will be. The people in the US are not nearly as desperate as the population of Argentina were when they elected Milei, and far too many in the US still have far too much confidence that the government can fix everything.
The best those of us can do who see all this coming is just what you described: Take steps to get out of debt, find a community of like-minded people, and become self-sufficient. I salute you, and wish to see many, MANY more like you.
I hate to be the harbinger of bad news, but if the EPA is not scrapped along with the entire Green Movement, life in the Western world will become impossible, and at the least a bit more dangerous.
Saving energy, water, etc is pointless in the face of inflation, while doing so is very costly.and will soon be cost prohibitive. For example: The gas boiler in my home is 82% efficient and circa 1986 to date no part in the boiler has failed except a $5 thermocouple.
My neighbor seeking to be Green and save energy removed his working boiler also installed in 1986. The new 94% efficiency boiler garnered a $1500 Federal tax credit, $300 from the utility company but cost $20k. Fast forward to this year and three boilers later he now has $63k invested over the same period in boilers. This is not to mention each year the boiler needs $500 worth of maintenance and all ways seems to fail on a cold day or some holiday with a house full of guests.
January of this year to save the planet all refrigerants in the West will be replaced with semi flammable products. Not to worry if the coils develop leaks inside the home a detector will turn on the fan to dilute the gas. Whether or not any given the technician follows safe refrigeration practices is yet to be seen. I suppose after a few fellows end up in the hospital or the morgue this will change.
I guess we'll learn if these refrigerants cause any health effects down the road. The good part for the manufacturers, every piece of existing equipment will have to be replaced including the furnace.
As Kermit the frog famously quipped "It's Good to be Green!"
My opinion from trenches: "I'm just here for the gasoline."
I hope you were able to grab the neighbor’s 1986 boiler! I changed out my home’s 30+ year old furnace with a more efficient model (plus central AC). The contractor knew the old working unit was of high quality and offered to “haul it away”. Like yours, the only thing it ever needed was a thermocouple. I told him I was keeping it as a back-up, for the time the new, monstrously complex furnace was no longer repairable.
I have saved the old electric "boost heater" from my heat pump system to heat my garage/shop. It needed to be changed when the 25 year old heat pump died, due to the change of refrigerant chemical.
"We have to breath it to know what's in it."
- Skanky Piglosi
I wonder if the new refrigrant is propane. : ) I should not laugh its happened.
I hear propane is a great, non-ozone depleting refrigerant, except for one drawback.
That one drawback is the reason DuPont invented CFCs, giving us R-12, aka Freon, which worked like crazy, and thereby caused its own eventual demise. Best llways. PM
I’m so old that I remember going to an evening talk at the dorm commons by an obscure professor (chemistry, I think) who was claiming that Freon was destroying the ozone layer. About 10 people showed up. I guess he eventually made a strong enough argument, as he wound up getting a Nobel Prize for his work (back when it meant something). It was about 1975, UC Irvine. Rowland something was the professor, can’t remember his last name.
Freon goes back to the late 1920s. It was a response to the "modern" demand for refrigeration. The idea was to have a non-flammable, safe (haha) gas for the compression required. Even though Freon was non-flammable, it's use was still dangerous due to the high-pressures required in refrigeration. Best always. PM
And, if memory serves me from an old book about technology, the same guy that invented Freon also brought us tetraethyl lead! Oh well, I’m sure his intentions were good.
You have become a sinical old man, where is it that Trump said this? "And Trump pledged to protect both of them", more bluster, more negativity, certainly not the powerhouse guiding newsletter it was when i joined a few years ago. Unlike you i can prove the following which I'll say again, ALL you do is bitch. Didn't hear much complaining as Biden and the giggler further the country on the path to ruin, oh, but then again the disease has not been identified. You sir offer nothing constructive, and have a severe case of TDS.
I know Chet! Trump isn’t even in office yet and Bill is knocking things that have not even happened yet! Four years of total leftist lunacy and all Bill could do is push gold and demonize Bitcoin 🤔. He holds an absolute record for being sooo wrong on sooo much! But to all my fellow crypto millionaires, congratulations on not paying one bit of attention with this nonsense, and using your own logic to become very wealthy 😊 and we all know how the left lacks any logic!
Interesting analysis as always but coming from someone who has obviously made millions and millions and millions selling investment advice or providing a platform for others to sell investment advice. Has that advice provided a net gain to the world? Of course some of that advice has led to losses but the seller of the advice did not lose out - just the poor(er) investors.
Quiet you. The Plebs are NOT allowed to judge our "betters" by the same standards they use...
Good point, Ken.
Does that make Bill a parasite? Living off selling info to others? Kevin Johnson is that parasitic? What is produced? Only an investment opinion, some may profit and some may lose.
I agree wholeheartedly
Measured under the same lens what exactly has Our fearless advisor created.
I don’t fault Bill for prospering in the investment world but how do you differ much from those you freely criticize and condemn
"𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙢𝙥’𝙨 𝘽𝙞𝙜 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩-𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙮𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙙𝙪𝙤 — 𝙈𝙪𝙨𝙠/𝙍𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙬𝙖𝙢𝙮."
And surely when Programs/Personnel begin getting cut and money stops being wasted you'll be the first to acknowledge it and tell us all about it on this substack. Fat Chance - but thanks for the glimpse of personal bitterness that fills you now and will only get worse when Trump & Company begin accomplishing the things you were not able to. Prediction: You will soon be telling us how the wrong things are getting cut and/or the cuts don't go far enough or deep enough - while simultaneously providing precisely ZERO suggestions or solutions.
"𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨: 𝙈𝙪𝙨𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙬𝙖𝙢𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝘾 𝙨𝙬𝙖𝙢𝙥... 𝙖𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨."
Funny how it seems that any success they have will be something that puts you in a foul mood, Bill.
"...𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗣𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱... 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀... 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗼."
Do you hear yourself? You would be hard-pressed to come off more envious or petty than you did with this statement. It is stunning how you can reach these conclusions about Musk's career and contributions so far and says way, WAY more about you than it does about him. THAT is a fact.
Your Hatred for all things Trump is rapidly escalating into an orgy of Irrationality and translating into a position that sounds astonishingly like one that does not WANT America or any of the new Administration to succeed. News flash, Bill - we can get that garbage from any mainstream "media" source. The missive today was straight-up pathetic and not worthy of anyone's time or energy. Like the rest of the dimocrats and "elite", you would seem to prefer the Country continue declining rather than be proven wrong or inadequate. Remarkable.
Maybe you should reread what you wrote today and ask yourself "What, 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆, did my readers get from these words that actually benefits them, their families or their lives?"
I know how I would answer that...
PS - Social Security is NOT an "entitlement" to those of us who have had that money stolen from our paychecks year after year...
Glad I kept scrolling down to see your post. Perfect. And yes, Bill is a POS.
Maybe Bill is like Biden and used a kludge of S Corps to avoid paying much in FICA and Medicare tax.
Agree with your assessment 100%. Sad but true. However, us boaters near you on the Chesapeake are really thankful to Elon for Starlink. 100Meg internet speeds anywhere in the world at a reasonable cost. Life changing for boaters! And note, the Biden bucks paid for my local utility company to run fiber down my half mile driveway at no cost to me. Cost to the taxpayers: Easily 20K for my driveway alone. Could have done it with Starlink for under $1000, but Elon was not friendly with The Biden Crime family, thus Starlink got none of the broadband subsidies. Watch what happens next!
Good Lord! How do you even get out of bed every morning? Your posts are so relentlessly negative and pessimistic that they’re mentally exhausting. Take a walk in the woods, watch a sunrise—find something, anything, that reminds you life isn’t all doom and gloom.
I say this with all due respect: you’re a gifted writer with a sharp intellect, but you need a serious reboot.
^^^THIS^^^
The last several months of Bonner Missives are NOT why most of us signed up....
True that. And my "ground floor" subscription price of $100 a year keeps me coming back (for Tom and Dan).
Precisely Dave. Thank you.
To me a gifted writer is someone who not only writes well but also has something worthwhile and insightful to say. The second part is missing. Dyson and Denning are why I'm here, not Bad News Bonner.
I like Bill's assessments. I do not want the palaver of a better life from an incoming Administration.
Or for him to placate his readers with feel-good projections from a man who still doesn't know that US importers pay the tariffs
Agree will be tough to do much with the swamp!! read this morning we're rebuilding/ adding
air bases around China for nuclear bombers! MILITARY SPENDING NEVER STOPS!
at lease everyone is more aware of our reckless spending good 1st step to take our country back!
So, Bill, you FAILED Fifty years past and now you think people you dislike for some reason should not try. Your personal problem is not achieving any good. The people working for (with) BPR, do a great job. Maybe you should not write and go fishing.
RALPH W.
Truly remarkable. So many with their heads so far up their backside they need a glass eye in their belly button. They not only buy the propaganda but relish in it. MAGA is going to save America and the world. All rise for the MAGA. Unfortunately, Boys, it ain't going to happen. Keep wishin' and hopin' but you'll continue to be disappointed. Neither Trump nor Musk nor Ramaswamy are going to drain the swamp. Nice to think about but Really? Seriously? You need another mRNA shot. Ol' Bill gets called a "Dummkopfen" when he is just pointing out the truth. Hard world we inhabit.
Ok ol' man. I'm getting off your lawn...
Yeah, get off my lawn! Everything sucks! Everything will always suck! No point in trying to desuck everything. Have I told you about my cool gypsy trailer? When it hits a fan you might need a nice place to live. I'm tired i'm going to bed....
Maybe but it’s not whether it’s going to save America but will it make it better for the next guy to continue the fight. At least Trump will not be fighting fabricated impeachment proceedings in his first 2 years like last time. He will be able to focus on the problems with a chance to correct some of them. There are too many deep state Representatives and Senators to beat them all but progress towards rooting out some of the corruption is a plus.
So, you think things would be more promising had Kamelface Harris and Tampon Tim won? A Democrat majority? Sounds that way. Truly remarkable, indeed.
For me, I’m hopeful that the Trump administration can roll back the leftism instigated by BarryO and Obiden, but reality tells me not to get my hopes up.
AOL: AMEN
Channeling P.J. O’Rourke, God rest his soul, I fear the following will be true of the incoming Administration: Same trough, different pigs.
President Warp Speed, Ramaswamy, and Musk are all members of the parasite class.
But hey, enjoy the show!
They are still better than the super-parasite class of obama, biden, etc
That's for sure!
So Kevin, where’s the parasite part come in? Trump built stuff and took advantage of the laws in place to succeed as a developer. Elon is a creator of first legitimate electric car and SpaceX which the current administration hired to rescue astronauts stranded on the space station, created star link which benefits people/customers, and digging tunnels to relieve traffic also benefiting society. And you call them parasites??? Would love to know what you do or retired from? I will hitch my horses to the new administration until I see something that shows I am wrong.
Yes I'm sure Elon and Vivek milked the system or at least played it. But their achievements are pretty significant given the playing field. So now with a pretty good understanding of the playing field can they cut costs and improve the damn thing? I usually think I'm brilliant but I can't think of anything better to do. Personally if I was in their position I would remove the corruption if possible.. It's a start. Kennedy that "crazy" person is my man. Attack where you know there is corruption. In the case of Vivek and Elon they can attack where they know the game.
Musk carries water for In-Q-Tel and his "inventions" were stolen, just like Zuckerberg and his Facebook heist.. As Bill points out, Ramaswampy made his millions via high-octane grifting. And as POTUS Trump is merely paying off the debts he incurred when his real estate investments collapsed back in the 80s. These guys aren't heroes. If you want a hero fix, read Greek Mythology.
Not looking for a hero. I have one in Jesus. And you think President Trump is paying back some people from 40 years ago??? Think you have TDS ……. Just saying.
You do realize that Presidents make only about half a million dollars a year and in Trump's case he donated it all to charity. Exactly which debts is he paying off "as POTUS"?
Butbutbut MSLSD clearly said...
So Biden and Harris are paragons of productivity?
Well said Bill! And the newest twist is the proposed NASA head. Also from the same mold and will oversee his buddy Musks billion dollar grants. Changing of the guard I guess but no real change
I don’t know anything but what I read, but, it seems Musk has taken over for NASSA, cheaper. EV’s will eventually take over the market when the full breath of technology is utilized and Musk was there first. He also created the best battery. Everyone uses his charger. How about he spent 40 billion giving America free speech.
Musk in particular has done some amazing things with SpaceX. Incredible amount of payload successfully launched and more power and smaller footprint on the boosters.
Was it done efficiently could someone have done quicker easier and cheaper, maybe but, they have done it. Talk is cheap while doing it is significantly more expensive and harder.
Yes. He is at least able to find businesses that are on the move and significant. I can't think of a better person than he and Vivek to do this. Vivek has, every time I've heard him speak, seen exactly they way I view all these issues. They obht seem brilliant to me.
OK well name the best person in America to understand the swamp and how to change it!
I guess I'd choose a couple billionaires. Maybe I'd mix Bill in there with Elon and Vivek. Although after Bill's comments I suspect there would be more negativity, usually a bad combination. And to further describe my position, I'm not betting on either one or both of them together and maybe that's what Bill is saying.
One more comment: Whatever they remove of the government I would gladly take it and thank God that for a reduction in central planning parasitic hangers on. That glorious incompetence, hubris and belief that some smart men can make the economy better through their controls. I'm hoping they come up with simply less invovlement and less control.
Mr. Mackinac, I think you have exactly the right idea here. I hope that Elon and Vivek will do this. I think this will be the best way to save some serious money without massively cutting employment (voters) in a major way, which is politically tricky. The emphasis should be on taking the time to really study the federal government, especially how it hinders business of all sizes with its many regulations.
Elon and Vivek and their enormous staffs should set up an interview system where they find out from the various business associations (most are probably already in metro-DC) what is hindering their member businesses. Then they should record these complaints, then interview the thousands of federal govt. bureaucrats who sign off on these regulations. Even if govt. rules don't allow them to recommend firing all or many these folks, they can move them to do-nothing jobs, then provide a long list of recommended actions to the Trump Admin. and Congress to modify or remove these onerous regulations. DOGE folks can also work with the Commerce, Energy, SBA, & Justice Dept.'s to help them with get through this entire process as smoothly and quickly as possible.
I think DOGE's mandate is misunderstood by many Americans. I don't think they can enforce anything. But they can get other departments to do the removals and modifications with their recommendations as well present a coherent program that has a good chance to get through the House and especially the swampy, egotistical Senate.
I think the biggest roadblock could be President Trump. He was overly confrontational with Congress in 2017. I know he had RINO weasels leading Congress then, but he was woefully inexperienced in dealing with govt. people like them. I think his senior advisors need to convince him to use his negotiating skills this time around in 2025 to PERSUADE them, especially 53 GOP Senators, who think they are mini-Gods (i.e., 53 out of a population of 330M--e.g, look at Sen. Ernst's recent egotistical groping for Defense Sec.) to pass the reg removals his administration can't legally do on their own. Although his administration should be able to remove most of them on their own. And there are GOP House members who will need some convincing. Even if he has to have lunch with each of the 273 (220 + 53), it will be worth it if he's serious about this in 2025.
I don't know what the process should be. Don't want to think about it. I hope the Trump team has insight and builds a process. If they don't do something we will no longer be a viable republic. The debt will cause a collapse. These Senators and House need to face reality that just paying more money to buy votes to produce central planning with 200T in debt is a failure but my guess is that they will not face reality.
Well put!
Have to hope, a little. We have not, in a long time chosen the best for these elected positions as the best would never put themselves through it. Musk is at a least a good start and has done some impressive things. Not all because of him but, has an ability to put great unheard of people in a good position to succeed.
Not sure about Vivek, but I think you underestimate Musk. Musk has Starlink, Tesla, and X as proof that he is more than a clever bean counter. Maybe not enough to get past the looming fiscal black hole, but worth giving it a try when nothing better has turned up.