The Heat is On

It’s power that holds the guns and calls the shots. And as Musk channels his immense wealth into political power, he will inevitably have more and more powerful people wanting to take a shot at him.

Jacques de Molay, last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, burned at the stake by order of King Philip IV of France. Source: Getty Images

Pour vivre heureux, vivons cachés.

(To live well, we will stay hidden.)

French proverb

Friday, December 20^th, 2024

Bill Bonner, writing today from Baltimore, Maryland

Power vs. Money. Who’s in charge?

We’ll find out soon. The Daily Beast:

Shutdown Looms after Trump ‘Blindsided’ by ‘President Elon Musk’

Shaping up is the most important takedown event of the century...a battle of the titans… the world’s richest man vs. the most powerful man in the world. Tyson vs. Paul was nothing in comparison. We’re talking about the biggest prize ever:

Control of the United States of America.

Money has always played a big role in politics.

In the 12th century, the French crown borrowed heavily from Jewish lenders. Then, when it couldn’t pay, it cancelled its debts by expelling the Jews. King Edward I of England pulled a similar stunt in the following century. Rather than pay his Jewish lenders what he owed them, he ran them out of the country.

In 1307, the French king targeted the wealth of the Templars, who had established their headquarters in Paris after pulling out of their last stronghold in Syria. They were the defenders of Christendom in the Crusades and had been bequeathed vast estates and much gold. Philip IV reportedly asked them for money. When they refused, he burned their leaders at the stake.

Later in that same century, the English king borrowed from rich families in Florence, the Bardi and Peruzzi. When he refused to pay, both families were ruined.

Sometimes, wealth alone is enough to bring a man down. Louis 14th visited Nicolas Fouquet and was so impressed by the great opulence with which he was entertained, he had Fouquet arrested and took his fabulous chateau, Vaux-le-Vicomte, for himself.

In the end, it’s power that holds the guns and calls the shots. And as Musk channels his immense wealth into political power, he will inevitably have more and more powerful people wanting to take a shot at him.

Including Donald J. Trump himself. “The state is the enemy,” says Javier Milei. But it is not Trump’s enemy. It is his hammer. And Elon Musk might soon look like a nail.

This week, Republicans and Democrats agreed on a “Continuing Resolution” to keep the feds funded through to March. But Elon stepped up and said ‘no.’ We never saw anything like it — a rich guy upstaging the president elect and practically making major policy decisions himself.

But the approach of a government ‘shutdown’ now brings political heat. Whining, complaining, gnashing teeth — the poor will starve... the Russians will land on the Jersey Shore... and there will be no one to plow the snow from the roads. Airports may be closed, Social Security checks undelivered, and the Pentagon shuttered.

Every penny of federal spending goes to someone. And the power people, whose names are on most of the checks... including all the great and good in the media, the universities, the Swamp, the Deep State, Wall Street and the military-industrial-complex...will not like it.

Donald Trump won’t like it either. He’s the guy they’ll blame. And he’s a power guy. Power guys like the government; they use it to pound their enemies and reward their friends.

You’ll recall that in his first term, Mr. Trump proved no threat to the powers-that-be. And if he had, there would have been a better shooter on the roof in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Musk’s stated goal is to cut nearly 30% of the feds’ spending power. The military, retirees, sick people, agencies, departments — the pain would be widespread and deep.

Assuming nothing goes wrong, and current tax cuts are allowed to expire on schedule, deficits are still programmed to increase to nearly $3 trillion by 2034. But not only has Mr. Trump pledged to avoid cuts to military or domestic transfer programs, he also intends a collection of tax cuts and spending increases that will add, net, about $1.5 trillion more to the deficit each year.

In other words, Mr. Musk’s agenda, and Mr. Trump’s agenda, are not compatible. One wants to use the government. The other aims to get it off our backs. And the primary political trend hangs in the balance.

Pssst. Elon!

You might want to make sure your South African passport is up to date.

Regards,

Bill Bonner