Wednesday, September 23rd, 2026
Bill Bonner, from Ardmore, Ireland
Eventually, I think people’s pocketbooks are going to impose reality on them and they’re going to quit watching Fox and pay more attention to the gas prices.
—Thomas Massie
Much of what passes for ‘news’ is of the comic book variety. There are good guys and bad guys. Readers are meant to cheer the good guys, no matter what they do...and curse the satanic forces undermining the Republic.
Just in the last few weeks, we noticed at least three new ‘news and opinion’ outlets crowding our inbox. MiddleAmericaNews, FaithFreedomReport, PatriotJournal. All seem to provide a very upbeat view of the US economy, more campaign rally than skilled analysis. And almost every headline gives credit to the brilliance of POTUS...or reveals the devilry of his many enemies:
‘He’s just made a marvelous new deal...
‘He’s just ‘called out’ someone...or ‘shut down’ someone else...
‘He’s finally put a stop to the fake news, by banning major media from the White House.
‘Thank God...we finally got rid of the fake news,’ say the faithful.
But what’s with MiddleAmericaNews et al? If CNN’s news is fake...what kind of news is PatriotJournal peddling?
We asked our AI assistant — Claude — to track down who was behind these Trump fan rags. “Where are these ‘news’ groups coming from?” we asked. “Who funds them?” “How did they get our email address?”
Claude came back empty handed. Corporate structures seem intended to launder the source of funds so thoroughly it is bleached white. However, our AI bloodhound was able to sniff out at least one lead. Documents show that legally, these outfits are to be governed by the laws and procedures of Palm Beach County, Florida.
Maybe the Russians are trying to interfere with the next elections. More likely, Americans are — fencing off the open range of opinion, and forcing the herd into its own pastures of curated thought.
We only bring it up to slide sideways into our subject: that the US economy is not nearly as good as the propaganda suggests. Trump:
The economy is ‘doing unbelievably well.’
We are in a ‘Golden Age.’
We have ‘never seen numbers like this.’
CNBC:
President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. economy could grow at rates as high as 20%, while arguing that even such rapid growth should not prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.
“We could have a GDP of 14, 15, 16 and 20,” Trump said during an Oval Office event announcing agreements aimed at lowering prescription drug prices. “Success in growth does not cause inflation.”
He’s right about that. Growth alone does not cause inflation. But no reason to worry about it; the US economy is barely growing at all, with a GDP growth rate of only 1.5%. What’s growing is the supply of money and credit...which has been going up at more than 7% per year for the last half century. Not surprisingly, prices have also been going up...so much that the dollar has lost some 95% of its value since the 1970s.
These, of course, are all numbers we’ve seen before. All-too-familiar arithmetic. We don’t need to see them again.
And as Tom Massie points out, ideologically, voters may want to jump on the Trump bandwagon. Still, reality — including numbers we’ve never seen before — might get in the way.
We’ve seen plenty of 6s, 5s and 1s, for example. But put them in front of the price of diesel fuel and you get something new. Mr. Trump is right; we’ve never seen diesel fuel at $6.51/gallon. That’s about 75% higher than when he started the war with Iran.
And in some places diesel fuel is much higher. SiliconValleyNews:
California gas station with $9.99 diesel exemplifies fuel crisis
And here’s another number we’ve never seen before: MoneyWise:
American wages plummet to 43% of national income, the lowest since the Great Depression
Pity the poor patriots. They are celebrating the Golden Age...and getting poorer. Wages are flat, while inflation reduces real take-home pay. Kevin Warsh:
“For more than five years, inflation has been running above target. The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long.”
We remind readers that between Trump and Biden, $20 trillion has been loaded onto the nation’s back — twice what it was in 2016. At 5% interest these two presidents will cost the nation $1 trillion per year in interest — payable forever...or until the whole shebang blows up, whichever comes first.
Warsh’s 25 basis point increase in the Fed’s lending rate won’t make much difference one way or the other. With inflation at 3.4%, it sets the real rate on Fed money at only 0.6% — still very low. But at least it shows some Fed independence and may presage more rate hikes to come.
Another reality check: maybe this is a Golden Age. Maybe not. Gold or pewter, families need houses. And thanks to the way America’s Bubble Empire has been financed, it now requires a family income of $124,000 to afford the median-priced house. Unfortunately, the median family only earns $86,000. This puts the financing gap at its widest point in history. All numbers we’ve never seen before.
Say what you want. Voters won’t like the numbers. Ideology may be free. Diesel is not.
Regards,
Bill Bonner
P.S. This morning yet another ‘news and opinion’ site appeared in our inbox: AmericanPrideDaily. Same tent revival formula. Same obscure ownership.
And speaking of government spending, the DoD's IG has just released a report on the cost of the Iran war, including this: “USCENTCOM reported that Iranian strikes damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan.” The IG didn't estimate how much repairs would cost, but an independent analyst thinks maybe $200 billion. I suppose the DoD could do that, altho with what money is a good question. Or, here's a modest proposal: We could decide those bases serve no real purpose and just walk away from them...
Example of Fake News: Yesterday afternoon a message from the AP showed up in my inbox with the headline: "Photos of world leaders confronting global crises at the UN General Assembly". The message did, in fact, contain photos from the UN General Assembly. What the message did not convey was the underlying fact: world leaders don't confront global crises; they create them. Best always. PM