The US financial system — under the spell of its ‘printing press’ money — is a debt machine. And it runs on credit...and oil. As credit is added, the economy grows...but the debt grows faster.
Inflate or die, sadly this has been the theme since we left the gold standard in 1971. This trend isn't going to change as all your readers know. I would bet most of the BPR readers have taken measures to safeguard some of their assets to fight the inflation problem. None of us can do anything to resolve the Iran conflict, we just are along for the bumpy ride. Only Trump had the guts to punch the bully in the face and it was long overdue.
Only God knows how this will end and He isn't talking.
God is talking: He calls this the historically, internationally, constantly repeated Pride Cycle - and we are entering the free-fall portion.
How did Atlas Shrug? Is BPR consistent with that example? What did good, intelligent, self-reliant working people like us do to lift their communities in the centuries of failing Rome? ...in the Dirty '30s of the 20th century?
We here have parents and grandparents who lived through WWI, FDR and WWII. Many have fond memories of the "Great Depression." Hmmm.
My father was a prisoner of war, sent into Germany to work on a farm. On his way to freedom, he saw enough cruelty to last several lifetimes. PTSD that eventually, took him over the edge in his early 50's with the help of the bottle and cigarettes. But the lesson he carried home was simple and severe: debt is dangerous.
He bought the house with a mortgage, the car with cash, and taught his two kids that cash is king. Borrow only with caution. Never miss a payment. Better still, don’t borrow at all. Earn. Then spend.
I took that lesson. And put it in my back pocket. And learned about credit the hard way. Luckily, I had his story as a backdrop. And a lived proof that what he preached was very, very true.
Because when life wobbles, debt does not forgive. And that is how houses, families, and whole societies come down.
Just as a point of importance to todays missive, the Titanic sunk on this day killing over a thousand of its passengers including some of the wealthiest people alive. Also Abraham Lincoln was assasinated on this day futher complicating Americas recovery from our civil war. My point being we will survive all we see happening in this world trusting in the good Lords mercy. P.s. On my trip home from lunch this afternoon gas prices in Ohio have dropped 30 cents a gallon in town. Keep the faith.
Bill needs an editor to check his work before he hits Send. The US blockade of the Iranian blockade?? Cry Havoc and let (slip) the dogs of war?? C'Mon Man!!
the meanings of words are no longer more important that spelling/punctuation eh ?.. the dickhead steering the ship has no idea what a rudder is but he'll get you to where exactly you need to be .. can't happen quick enough!
My apologies if it's too much to ask a PUBLISHER to double check his work. Errors such as this indicate to me that this is more of a rant rather than a thoughtful piece intended to persuade. Tom never has errors like this, and Dan makes these kinds of errors rarely. I enjoy reading their communications because they are professional and well thought out. Bill makes errors like this all the time, perhaps because every communication from him is basically a rehash of the same theme.
you have every right to criticiste Bill message but I'm not sure that punctuation is more significant than what Bill has been trying to say in so many various and entertaining ways for these past 40+ years .. I guess some of us have grown old as has Bill and so we don't always find better ways of expressing the obvious .. but his constant song might seems boring at times yet his underlying theme seeks to relate current events to the greater collective wisdom which perhaps is the main goal of aging ...
The economy v. the bomb v. the effects of the war on oil and therefore the world's economies. Inflat or die (default), continuous credit being created out of thin air needed to keep the metaphorical oil necessary to keep the banking system afloat. I started my work life in the early 60's (I know). I have seen this system move from real money to fake money. I have seen our politicians move from statesmen to unadulterated whores as a function of free access to creative uses of the printing press. So lots of change. So here we are with two threats to our way of life. The debt bomb or the neclear bomb. While this is certainly a dicohtomous choice, is it really a choice at all? What to do with such a choice?
In 1962 my father bought a 100 year old, 600 acre cattle ranch in British Columbia, Canada, 40 miles up a 2 lane, unpaved "highway". He moved our family up there, no electricity, no telephone, no television, no running water (except me running to the well.)
It was difficult times financially. It was idyllic for this 12 year old Palo Alto, California boy.
Three years later when the family headed back to California for a third 2-week Christmas visit, I stayed behind. It was my idea. I fed the cattle, chopped the wood, fed myself, read books, drove myself (illegally) 20 miles to attend church in a neighbor's living room on Sundays, and loved it all.
Dad and mom and my wife's parents were children in the Dirty 30's, and I do not remember any self pity. Rather story after story of self reliance and initiative, home parties, school and sports, simple, healthy delicious home cooked meals around the table together.
It is never either/or, is it? Unfortunately, the stakes are higher now because of the internationalization of everything, which sounds like the book “The Dawn of Everything.” Maybe not since Solomon - I can’t verify that - have we had a wise ruler. Wisdom, by the way, is not a prerequisite to a career in politics, hence the downward slide of societies.
I hate this war. Wasn’t for starting it and now see no way to get out of it without putting troops on the ground in Iran. There is no regime change happening and won’t happen no matter how many “Presidential wannabees” may step up and claim the keys to the tanks in Iran. DJT should have focused on domestic issues like the economy and the growing debt and stayed out of foreign issues that are not directly impacting the US economy. Call me an isolationist. I pled guilty.
Now, we are at war and will either be still fighting it in November or will still be suffering its caustic effects in November. Given the traditional midterm election results, and the state of the US economy, the voting public will hear a litany from the MSM that will only speak to these matters and the conservatives will have no effective rebuttal. DJT will lose the House and likely the Senate and will be impeached before 2027 ends [On the record — remind me in 2028]. Impeachment means JD will become President and will have a hell of a fight getting his nominee for VP elected by the Congress. He’ll get someone, but remember how effective Gerald Ford was. DJT will probably stay out of jail, but will spend his remaining years fighting to stay a free man and salvage his historical reputation. All one needs to do to gauge how tarnished his reputation will be is to read the commentary in Bill’s missives by folks that argue about how DJT is a Nazi, a racist, a pedophile, a thief, or just a criminal. Given this doom and gloom prediction, the 2028 Presidential election could easily get us a liberal President and I fear the quality of that candidate both in common sense and love of country will be so low that America will suffer it’s greatest setback in history. Just my opinion, I could be wrong [to quote Dennis Miller].
Throughout these missives where I’ve commented, my main gripe has been Bill’s constant one-sided diatribes against conservatives, especially, DJT. He can hate him all he wants, but I paid for financial advice not what I can get for free by listening to the liberal MSM. Ain’t gonna happen. My concern is once DJT is gone, who is Bill gonna hate next? How about a preview, Bill? Vance, Rubio, DeSantis, Jesus Christ, Allah? I suggest you get started now since it will take a few months for us to figure out how lame your arguments will be against the next guy or girl.
Bill; As usual you fail to understand how lucky we are to have a (4) dimentional chess playing Clown and his ignorant sychophant cabinet in charge at a time like this. If anyone knows financial failure, it's DJT. I think our situation requires a unique management style. The kind that comes with the ability to bankrupt your own casino multiple times. A business that's rigged in your favor to never lose. So smile Bill, we couldn't be in better hands.
Man. If I was like some of you doom-and-gloomers here, I’d be looking for a Doctor Kevorkian.
Enjoy your life. Cherish the gift of it. Appreciate growing old; it’s a privilege denied to many. Accept Jesus Christ as your savior. Know that the world is evolving according to God’s plan. And lastly, let not your heart be troubled.
Bill as usual great perception and ideas always worth reading even after 40+ years ! now make sure you send copies to your former spin-off's like Joel who's so busy attacking the dead or indefensible or blaming anyone with no ideas on how to alter the course .. but as you say the guy on this US titanic is all balls and NO brains so he's gotta do what he's there for, destroy the US !
Are you afraid to comment about the welcome birth of our big debt? At 98 I was alive, but your spirit was not yet born. It was still playing with the angles! Better your readers know the full story and not a bias edited portion. Bias editions smell an odor the writer can not detect.
Inflate or die, sadly this has been the theme since we left the gold standard in 1971. This trend isn't going to change as all your readers know. I would bet most of the BPR readers have taken measures to safeguard some of their assets to fight the inflation problem. None of us can do anything to resolve the Iran conflict, we just are along for the bumpy ride. Only Trump had the guts to punch the bully in the face and it was long overdue.
Only God knows how this will end and He isn't talking.
Jim Marshall
"Only Trump had the guts to punch the bully in the face and it was long overdue."
What a great line !! So true.
God is talking: He calls this the historically, internationally, constantly repeated Pride Cycle - and we are entering the free-fall portion.
How did Atlas Shrug? Is BPR consistent with that example? What did good, intelligent, self-reliant working people like us do to lift their communities in the centuries of failing Rome? ...in the Dirty '30s of the 20th century?
We here have parents and grandparents who lived through WWI, FDR and WWII. Many have fond memories of the "Great Depression." Hmmm.
Fabulous question, JCV.
My father was a prisoner of war, sent into Germany to work on a farm. On his way to freedom, he saw enough cruelty to last several lifetimes. PTSD that eventually, took him over the edge in his early 50's with the help of the bottle and cigarettes. But the lesson he carried home was simple and severe: debt is dangerous.
He bought the house with a mortgage, the car with cash, and taught his two kids that cash is king. Borrow only with caution. Never miss a payment. Better still, don’t borrow at all. Earn. Then spend.
I took that lesson. And put it in my back pocket. And learned about credit the hard way. Luckily, I had his story as a backdrop. And a lived proof that what he preached was very, very true.
Because when life wobbles, debt does not forgive. And that is how houses, families, and whole societies come down.
Just as a point of importance to todays missive, the Titanic sunk on this day killing over a thousand of its passengers including some of the wealthiest people alive. Also Abraham Lincoln was assasinated on this day futher complicating Americas recovery from our civil war. My point being we will survive all we see happening in this world trusting in the good Lords mercy. P.s. On my trip home from lunch this afternoon gas prices in Ohio have dropped 30 cents a gallon in town. Keep the faith.
Bill needs an editor to check his work before he hits Send. The US blockade of the Iranian blockade?? Cry Havoc and let (slip) the dogs of war?? C'Mon Man!!
the meanings of words are no longer more important that spelling/punctuation eh ?.. the dickhead steering the ship has no idea what a rudder is but he'll get you to where exactly you need to be .. can't happen quick enough!
My apologies if it's too much to ask a PUBLISHER to double check his work. Errors such as this indicate to me that this is more of a rant rather than a thoughtful piece intended to persuade. Tom never has errors like this, and Dan makes these kinds of errors rarely. I enjoy reading their communications because they are professional and well thought out. Bill makes errors like this all the time, perhaps because every communication from him is basically a rehash of the same theme.
you have every right to criticiste Bill message but I'm not sure that punctuation is more significant than what Bill has been trying to say in so many various and entertaining ways for these past 40+ years .. I guess some of us have grown old as has Bill and so we don't always find better ways of expressing the obvious .. but his constant song might seems boring at times yet his underlying theme seeks to relate current events to the greater collective wisdom which perhaps is the main goal of aging ...
The economy v. the bomb v. the effects of the war on oil and therefore the world's economies. Inflat or die (default), continuous credit being created out of thin air needed to keep the metaphorical oil necessary to keep the banking system afloat. I started my work life in the early 60's (I know). I have seen this system move from real money to fake money. I have seen our politicians move from statesmen to unadulterated whores as a function of free access to creative uses of the printing press. So lots of change. So here we are with two threats to our way of life. The debt bomb or the neclear bomb. While this is certainly a dicohtomous choice, is it really a choice at all? What to do with such a choice?
In 1962 my father bought a 100 year old, 600 acre cattle ranch in British Columbia, Canada, 40 miles up a 2 lane, unpaved "highway". He moved our family up there, no electricity, no telephone, no television, no running water (except me running to the well.)
It was difficult times financially. It was idyllic for this 12 year old Palo Alto, California boy.
Three years later when the family headed back to California for a third 2-week Christmas visit, I stayed behind. It was my idea. I fed the cattle, chopped the wood, fed myself, read books, drove myself (illegally) 20 miles to attend church in a neighbor's living room on Sundays, and loved it all.
Dad and mom and my wife's parents were children in the Dirty 30's, and I do not remember any self pity. Rather story after story of self reliance and initiative, home parties, school and sports, simple, healthy delicious home cooked meals around the table together.
Bankers were jumping off buildings.
It is never either/or, is it? Unfortunately, the stakes are higher now because of the internationalization of everything, which sounds like the book “The Dawn of Everything.” Maybe not since Solomon - I can’t verify that - have we had a wise ruler. Wisdom, by the way, is not a prerequisite to a career in politics, hence the downward slide of societies.
Yup and yup
I hate this war. Wasn’t for starting it and now see no way to get out of it without putting troops on the ground in Iran. There is no regime change happening and won’t happen no matter how many “Presidential wannabees” may step up and claim the keys to the tanks in Iran. DJT should have focused on domestic issues like the economy and the growing debt and stayed out of foreign issues that are not directly impacting the US economy. Call me an isolationist. I pled guilty.
Now, we are at war and will either be still fighting it in November or will still be suffering its caustic effects in November. Given the traditional midterm election results, and the state of the US economy, the voting public will hear a litany from the MSM that will only speak to these matters and the conservatives will have no effective rebuttal. DJT will lose the House and likely the Senate and will be impeached before 2027 ends [On the record — remind me in 2028]. Impeachment means JD will become President and will have a hell of a fight getting his nominee for VP elected by the Congress. He’ll get someone, but remember how effective Gerald Ford was. DJT will probably stay out of jail, but will spend his remaining years fighting to stay a free man and salvage his historical reputation. All one needs to do to gauge how tarnished his reputation will be is to read the commentary in Bill’s missives by folks that argue about how DJT is a Nazi, a racist, a pedophile, a thief, or just a criminal. Given this doom and gloom prediction, the 2028 Presidential election could easily get us a liberal President and I fear the quality of that candidate both in common sense and love of country will be so low that America will suffer it’s greatest setback in history. Just my opinion, I could be wrong [to quote Dennis Miller].
Throughout these missives where I’ve commented, my main gripe has been Bill’s constant one-sided diatribes against conservatives, especially, DJT. He can hate him all he wants, but I paid for financial advice not what I can get for free by listening to the liberal MSM. Ain’t gonna happen. My concern is once DJT is gone, who is Bill gonna hate next? How about a preview, Bill? Vance, Rubio, DeSantis, Jesus Christ, Allah? I suggest you get started now since it will take a few months for us to figure out how lame your arguments will be against the next guy or girl.
DJT is not a conservative.
JD is too MAGA for the populous to elect.
I agree this "conflict" is motivating more (low IQ) voters and the TDS inflicted to support Democrats.
I too share your fear, should the Democrats win 2028..
Will they again open the borders?
Will they again start with the gender bender insaity?
Will the liberals continue to conflate and proliferate culture with race?
Will they mandate jabbing healthy people again?
Obviously Neither party gives a crap about the debt.
However on-shoring, tariffs and inflation could reduce the U.S. debt to manageable levels...
Democrats fearing any Trump success, would rather continue propagating to ensure their perceived U.S. downward trajectory.
just look in the mirror .. the problem is staring back at you !
Bill; As usual you fail to understand how lucky we are to have a (4) dimentional chess playing Clown and his ignorant sychophant cabinet in charge at a time like this. If anyone knows financial failure, it's DJT. I think our situation requires a unique management style. The kind that comes with the ability to bankrupt your own casino multiple times. A business that's rigged in your favor to never lose. So smile Bill, we couldn't be in better hands.
The USA is now a kakistocracy.
Man. If I was like some of you doom-and-gloomers here, I’d be looking for a Doctor Kevorkian.
Enjoy your life. Cherish the gift of it. Appreciate growing old; it’s a privilege denied to many. Accept Jesus Christ as your savior. Know that the world is evolving according to God’s plan. And lastly, let not your heart be troubled.
John 14:1
Looking back to DJT's shark filled waters, and his leaky little boat is going down to the sharks! Omg! What a time to learn he can't swim!!!
Ali
Bill as usual great perception and ideas always worth reading even after 40+ years ! now make sure you send copies to your former spin-off's like Joel who's so busy attacking the dead or indefensible or blaming anyone with no ideas on how to alter the course .. but as you say the guy on this US titanic is all balls and NO brains so he's gotta do what he's there for, destroy the US !
Are you afraid to comment about the welcome birth of our big debt? At 98 I was alive, but your spirit was not yet born. It was still playing with the angles! Better your readers know the full story and not a bias edited portion. Bias editions smell an odor the writer can not detect.
Leonard Hartman