Smothering the Natives

At this stage, either group – mainstream or ‘Big Man,’ neither of which will cut spending -- can be counted on to lead America into financial chaos.

Purple loosestrife, an invasive perennial from Europe destroying North American wetland native plants, Source: Getty Images

Tuesday, January 14^th, 2025

Bill Bonner, writing from Baltimore, Maryland

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

—The Tenth Amendment

Last week...

Amid all the excitement about invading Panama and strong-arming Greenland...

A milestone passed with little notice: Jean-Marie Le Pen died. The BBC:

French far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen has died aged 96.

Le Pen, who had been in a care facility for several weeks, died at midday on Tuesday "surrounded by his loved ones", the family said. Le Pen - who repeatedly played down the Holocaust and was an unrepentant extremist on race, gender and immigration - founded the French far-right National Front party in 1972.

The Daily Telegraph reports:

Funeral of Jean-Marie Le Pen takes place amid heavy security

Dozens of police were deployed to implement a ban against any demonstrations that could disturb services for Le Pen, whose death at a care facility in Garches sparked celebrations by those who opposed him.

What does ‘far right’ mean? Maybe a closer look at France’s rabble rouser will help us understand Donald Trump... both what he is... and where he is likely taking us.

Le Pen was born in 1928. Then, in 1942, his father was killed by a mine. From the very beginning the young man from Brittany showed a remarkable fondness for aggression. A street brawler, he was convicted of assault several times. Generally, the victims were ‘cocos’ – communists.

He was a ‘political’ guy... always trying to get elected (often successfully) or to direct this or that organization... and start new ones.

There is no record of his doing anything other than trying to force other people to bend to his will. He joined the French Foreign Legion in Vietnam, but missed the catastrophe of Dien Bien Phu. He was sent to the Suez... but that was called off after Eisenhower refused to support it. And then, he went to Algeria, where he supported France’s right to govern the North African department. That came to an end, too, when de Gaulle brought the French home. Le Pen criticized de Gaulle as “helping to make France small.” He wanted a big France.

Back in Paris, full of youthful vigor and confidence, Le Pen started a new political party named ‘the National Front.’ And he was lucky. A rich donor supported him... and even gave him his prominent house in a Paris suburb from which to organize.

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Le Pen despised the old conservatives, with their faith in the Church, the army, and the codes of the old aristocracy. The feeling was mutual. He was more of the Mussolini variety — a man of action... eager for change... eager to engage... eager for a fight. Le Pen wasn’t fond of immigrants or ‘minorities.’ He was convicted more than once of ‘inciting hatred’ as well as downplaying the holocaust. (He said the Holocaust was an ‘historical detail’ rather than the main feature of WWII.)

In our political taxonomy, there are those who take the 10th Amendment seriously and those who don’t. Now largely forgotten, the 10^th Amendment is prehensile and useless. Still, the ‘old conservatives’ think it gives them the right to decide for themselves which bathroom would be most appropriate, whether to sign up for TikTok, or from whom they buy their EVs. In America today, occasionally, one of these traditional conservatives is sighted; but they are almost extinct.

The other main political branch has become ubiquitous. It believes in a central government with almost unlimited power. Like purple loosestrife, it has smothered the native varieties. Its adherents want more government so as to cure whatever they think ails our society. Prohibition! Climate control! Feed the poor... succor the sick... deport immigrants or give homes to them. Whatever.

Le Pen, Trump, Mussolini, Harris, Obama — all fit into this second phylum. They do not want to restrain the power of government; they want to use it.

But there are subgroups. Hillary Clinton, Biden, and Kamala are ‘mainstream’ – they take their cues from the ruling elites. Trump, on the other hand, like Le Pen, is in the “Vir Magnus” family, who rely on their own genius for policy decisions. Historically, these ‘Big Man’ politicians make good opposition candidates but disastrous leaders. Waterloo, Stalingrad, the Cultural Revolution, the Gulag – all are products of Big Man leaders.

But at this stage, either group – mainstream or ‘Big Man,’ neither of which will cut spending -- can be counted on to lead America into financial chaos.

As he got older, Le Pen’s daughter, Marine, tried to make the National Front more respectable. She urged him to stop saying things that would get him into trouble. He replied that it was the things that got him into trouble that had made him so popular.

She eventually ousted her father from the party he founded.

"Maybe by getting rid of me she wanted to make some kind of gesture to the establishment," Le Pen explained.

Jean-Marie Le Pen said what he thought... and his thoughts were greeted favorably by millions of his fellow Frenchmen.

He was a rabble rouser; he had to rouse the rabble.

Jean-Marie, RIP.

Regards,

Bill Bonner

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Research Note, by Dan Denning

‘Term premium’ is the extra-return bondholders get/demand for holding longer-term debt over shorter-term debt. The chart below from the New York Fed shows the rising ‘term premium’ on 10-year US government notes. It’s not an alarm bell yet. But the bond market is beginning to wonder if the US government truly has a grip on its debt and deficit problem. Or, if Uncle Sam will use the tried and true way to ‘pay off’ debt through inflation. CPI numbers tomorrow…