“...the federal government ran in the red (with the exception of a few years during the Clinton administration). “
Bill, I find only one nit to pick in your commentary today. It is in the sentence above. I see this statement mentioned a lot and one phrase should be reformulated as follows: “...a few years during the Clinton/ Gingrich administration).“ Without the "Contract with America” and the Gingrich led House holding Clinton’s feet to the fire on the budget, that momentary slowing of the eternal growth in federal debt would not have occurred. It is now a momentary blip in the history of federal debt but it was due to more than just Clinton.
Regarding the narrative of Clinton's "balanced budgets", it was then, and is now, a flat out lie. There was never a balanced budget (net zero or surplus) a single time during Clinton's administration. You can go to the US Treasury web site and look up the numbers yourself. The supposed balanced budget was nothing but accounting gimmickry between public debt and intragovernmental debt. You'll see that the national debt INCREASED each and every year of Clinton's presidency. Gingrich and his congressional buddies had to more to do with a "balanced budget" than Clinton did, because one never actually existed during those years.
I fully agree with your reply. Note what I said: It was a momentary slowing in the growth of debt. There may have been a year or 2 in the Eisenhower years when there was last a surplus, I’m not sure. Certainly none in the last 60+ years since I have been paying attention.
Don’t sell your gold, that’s your only safe haven. The one in your bunker or fireproof safe though, because the gold in bank deposits, ETF’s, and Trust are as risky as a blind man crossing the street! 😂
Hey Mr. Bankman, I would like to withdraw 1 million from your bank today.
Sorry Sir, that request will take between 4-6 weeks!
WTF! It’s my money Sir! OK, then transfer it over to my Stockholm account then.
Sorry Sir, that will also take 4-6 weeks, while we try and figure out how to go “belly up” without making any waves! Hahaha! 😂
Ha! and Ha! again. I lived in KY (yes, that's the postal abbreviation for the Cayman Islands and when they decided to use it back around '04, the Postmaster General in Kentucky was righteously pissed off, but I digress) for nearly 10 years, dodging the infamous 7-year ex-pat worker "roll-over" (pronounced "bend-over) policy and returning stateside in '12. Living in "paradise" was great, but even that eventually got tiresome.
Anywho - two striking things about the tiny Country, IMO, are the amount of debt held by various, um, "business interests" on the Islands and how many people believe the KY financial system still works the way it used to, as depicted in the film "The Firm." Y'know, garbage bags full of cash showing up at the bank door just before 5pm. "Don't trouble it mon - right this way."
It hasn't worked like that since around '09 when the Leader of Government Business Mackiva Bush (their President basically) tripped all over hissillustriousself and signed the infamous "White Paper" at the behest of Mr. O'blowme and Mr. Blair. This document meant to "stamp out tax havens" essentially gave away any advantage of secrecy that the KY banks offered to anyone parking money there. From that point on the IRS, Canadian Government, etc. need merely ask for any and all individual or business bank records and they would have them - usually within 24 hours. Many people (myself included as I penned a weekly Political OpEd in the more "Freedom-loving" newspaper of the two on-island) were totally and completely against the move. Primarily because KY offered only two things to the world - Tourism through the crystal-clear water and a haven for banking. Sadly, ol' Mac had his heart set on appeasing his "brown brother" (his words, not mine) that had just been elected POTUS, so that was that. Shortly after the document was signed, money fled to Switzerland, which maintained at least a semblance of secrecy in their banking laws and operations I suppose. I can't say for certain how accurate that is as I have never had enough dough to play in that stadium.
I had a GREAT time there swimming, diving, chasing the ladies, catching the slower ones and working my butt off. I made and retained a bunch of money and learned a TON about my chosen profession of Horticulture. I will let you in on a couple of the most popular sayings around Grand Cayman back in those days -
From the ex-pats: "Welcome to the Cayman Islands. A third world country with a paint job."
Yup - that would have been Mr. Ivan. A few brief recollections for anyone interested:
In the days immediately afterward ALL flights were free to Miami - they just wanted any and every non-essential person off the island. We were told the population went from just over 40,000 to under 18,000 in three short days. Nothing to eat or drink + no shade coming from the trees or palms. Brutal.
It is WAAAAY different dealing with a major Hurricane whilst on an island versus while being in Florida where I lived through dozens(?) of storms growing up. No food, water or fuel and you can't just drive to get any. Besides, very few automobiles survived the saltwater immersion.
Also unfortunate - Horticulture was an essential skill/service/profession, so I was stuck for the duration. All good - the recovery was a HUGE learning opportunity for me Horticulturally speaking, but at the time I wasn't especially keen to hang around.
Soap does not suds in saltwater. You have to bathe with fabric softener to get clean.
I was living on the north end of 7 Mile Beach and got water service back the week after Thanksgiving and power back the week between Christmas and New Years - Ivan had been a two day event, September 11 and 12 as I recall.
I had stayed in my beachfront 2nd & 3rd floor condo for the duration. Now THAT was an adventure - especially mid-storm long after the waves had removed our seawall and started eroding the sand under the foundation of the building I was in. "Yikes!" doesn't cover it as it would have been hard to vacate with the wind blowing a steady 125 mph outside.
There appeared a Royal Navy Frigate in Hog Stye Bay (where the Cruise Ships park) two days after the storm (the Cayman Islands are a British Protectorate) offering food, medicine and most importantly, water. The KY Government would not allow them to disperse any aid onshore in some misguided attempt at making a "statement" about their desire for Independence. Totally asinine maneuver, but par for the course. The ship sailed away a couple of days later with nothing and no one having made landfall.
I eventually went back for a quick visit to MIA in December. First thing I did was have 100 T-shirts made up that said "SurvIvan 9.11.04". Sold them like hotcakes at a great profit once I got back in through Customs and paid the 30% Duty.
I occasionally go back to visit and joke about all the large trees and palms that shiver when I walk past. They know who insisted on saving them (sometimes weeks after the storm) instead of chopping them up and dumping them in the landfill o' those many years ago. That extra time and effort has paid off in many, many beautiful, mature specimen plants still gracing the island to this day, though my attitude made me extremely unpopular with the on-hand labor at the time.
I could go on and on. So many memories about such a major, influential event in the lives of all the people who lived through it and endured the aftermath.
As my dear Dad used to say about his time in WWII -
"It was a million-dollar experience I wouldn't have paid a nickel for..."
They all have a common denominator that speaks volumes at the round table. You end up seeing the same faces, or the same people that work for Mr. Susuki! 😂
The poor mafia folks use small restaurants and bars to racketeer on their level, while the top syndicates like Gambino and Lucchesse scale it up with mid size community establishments.
Then you have the Buffets and Gates that incorporate top branch financial establishments to funnel and clean the system from impurities. What does that even mean or how does it matter? How is it relevant in any way?
Pay the extra fees and let the Buffet mob hold your money. I hear you can find some excellent 12” coffee cans over Jersey (Joysee, correct pronunciation), no radioactive sh*t, unless you’re buying dog food!
You so correct since I started to work , in forex and bases metals ( gold , silver , platinum and palladium) the negative correlation has been in place ... and still here , I am very very bullish gold , silver and platinum, less palladium.
But for those who follow this correlation, one thing we must do right is to guess if the usd is going north or south... are you sure that the fruit is ripe for the usd to go south .... I am not sure yet ... and I repeat I am very very bullish gold ... timing is the secret for me and for you .
Hi Mark , thank you for the articles , still believe that the usd is in a consolidation période since October 2022 and will end by June July 2023 , when the next up leg of the usd will start , still my view . Fed may pivot because we may enter a recession , since I started working in forex , in 1978 in all recession the usd was strong and the Fed was cutting rates .
Let’s keep in touch has spring bring us to summer when I believe the next up leg of the usd will start
“...the federal government ran in the red (with the exception of a few years during the Clinton administration). “
Bill, I find only one nit to pick in your commentary today. It is in the sentence above. I see this statement mentioned a lot and one phrase should be reformulated as follows: “...a few years during the Clinton/ Gingrich administration).“ Without the "Contract with America” and the Gingrich led House holding Clinton’s feet to the fire on the budget, that momentary slowing of the eternal growth in federal debt would not have occurred. It is now a momentary blip in the history of federal debt but it was due to more than just Clinton.
Jim,
Regarding the narrative of Clinton's "balanced budgets", it was then, and is now, a flat out lie. There was never a balanced budget (net zero or surplus) a single time during Clinton's administration. You can go to the US Treasury web site and look up the numbers yourself. The supposed balanced budget was nothing but accounting gimmickry between public debt and intragovernmental debt. You'll see that the national debt INCREASED each and every year of Clinton's presidency. Gingrich and his congressional buddies had to more to do with a "balanced budget" than Clinton did, because one never actually existed during those years.
I fully agree with your reply. Note what I said: It was a momentary slowing in the growth of debt. There may have been a year or 2 in the Eisenhower years when there was last a surplus, I’m not sure. Certainly none in the last 60+ years since I have been paying attention.
Yup, my mistake. Time to brush up on my reading comprehension. 😒
Don’t sell your gold, that’s your only safe haven. The one in your bunker or fireproof safe though, because the gold in bank deposits, ETF’s, and Trust are as risky as a blind man crossing the street! 😂
Hey Mr. Bankman, I would like to withdraw 1 million from your bank today.
Sorry Sir, that request will take between 4-6 weeks!
WTF! It’s my money Sir! OK, then transfer it over to my Stockholm account then.
Sorry Sir, that will also take 4-6 weeks, while we try and figure out how to go “belly up” without making any waves! Hahaha! 😂
It’s over! See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya!! 😂
Hi Mark -
Ha! and Ha! again. I lived in KY (yes, that's the postal abbreviation for the Cayman Islands and when they decided to use it back around '04, the Postmaster General in Kentucky was righteously pissed off, but I digress) for nearly 10 years, dodging the infamous 7-year ex-pat worker "roll-over" (pronounced "bend-over) policy and returning stateside in '12. Living in "paradise" was great, but even that eventually got tiresome.
Anywho - two striking things about the tiny Country, IMO, are the amount of debt held by various, um, "business interests" on the Islands and how many people believe the KY financial system still works the way it used to, as depicted in the film "The Firm." Y'know, garbage bags full of cash showing up at the bank door just before 5pm. "Don't trouble it mon - right this way."
It hasn't worked like that since around '09 when the Leader of Government Business Mackiva Bush (their President basically) tripped all over hissillustriousself and signed the infamous "White Paper" at the behest of Mr. O'blowme and Mr. Blair. This document meant to "stamp out tax havens" essentially gave away any advantage of secrecy that the KY banks offered to anyone parking money there. From that point on the IRS, Canadian Government, etc. need merely ask for any and all individual or business bank records and they would have them - usually within 24 hours. Many people (myself included as I penned a weekly Political OpEd in the more "Freedom-loving" newspaper of the two on-island) were totally and completely against the move. Primarily because KY offered only two things to the world - Tourism through the crystal-clear water and a haven for banking. Sadly, ol' Mac had his heart set on appeasing his "brown brother" (his words, not mine) that had just been elected POTUS, so that was that. Shortly after the document was signed, money fled to Switzerland, which maintained at least a semblance of secrecy in their banking laws and operations I suppose. I can't say for certain how accurate that is as I have never had enough dough to play in that stadium.
I had a GREAT time there swimming, diving, chasing the ladies, catching the slower ones and working my butt off. I made and retained a bunch of money and learned a TON about my chosen profession of Horticulture. I will let you in on a couple of the most popular sayings around Grand Cayman back in those days -
From the ex-pats: "Welcome to the Cayman Islands. A third world country with a paint job."
From the natives: "Lemme hol' a dollah nah..."
Hi Mark -
Yup - that would have been Mr. Ivan. A few brief recollections for anyone interested:
In the days immediately afterward ALL flights were free to Miami - they just wanted any and every non-essential person off the island. We were told the population went from just over 40,000 to under 18,000 in three short days. Nothing to eat or drink + no shade coming from the trees or palms. Brutal.
It is WAAAAY different dealing with a major Hurricane whilst on an island versus while being in Florida where I lived through dozens(?) of storms growing up. No food, water or fuel and you can't just drive to get any. Besides, very few automobiles survived the saltwater immersion.
Also unfortunate - Horticulture was an essential skill/service/profession, so I was stuck for the duration. All good - the recovery was a HUGE learning opportunity for me Horticulturally speaking, but at the time I wasn't especially keen to hang around.
Soap does not suds in saltwater. You have to bathe with fabric softener to get clean.
I was living on the north end of 7 Mile Beach and got water service back the week after Thanksgiving and power back the week between Christmas and New Years - Ivan had been a two day event, September 11 and 12 as I recall.
I had stayed in my beachfront 2nd & 3rd floor condo for the duration. Now THAT was an adventure - especially mid-storm long after the waves had removed our seawall and started eroding the sand under the foundation of the building I was in. "Yikes!" doesn't cover it as it would have been hard to vacate with the wind blowing a steady 125 mph outside.
There appeared a Royal Navy Frigate in Hog Stye Bay (where the Cruise Ships park) two days after the storm (the Cayman Islands are a British Protectorate) offering food, medicine and most importantly, water. The KY Government would not allow them to disperse any aid onshore in some misguided attempt at making a "statement" about their desire for Independence. Totally asinine maneuver, but par for the course. The ship sailed away a couple of days later with nothing and no one having made landfall.
I eventually went back for a quick visit to MIA in December. First thing I did was have 100 T-shirts made up that said "SurvIvan 9.11.04". Sold them like hotcakes at a great profit once I got back in through Customs and paid the 30% Duty.
I occasionally go back to visit and joke about all the large trees and palms that shiver when I walk past. They know who insisted on saving them (sometimes weeks after the storm) instead of chopping them up and dumping them in the landfill o' those many years ago. That extra time and effort has paid off in many, many beautiful, mature specimen plants still gracing the island to this day, though my attitude made me extremely unpopular with the on-hand labor at the time.
I could go on and on. So many memories about such a major, influential event in the lives of all the people who lived through it and endured the aftermath.
As my dear Dad used to say about his time in WWII -
"It was a million-dollar experience I wouldn't have paid a nickel for..."
Hello Mr. Star. Wonderful story, I enjoyed it much!
They all have a common denominator that speaks volumes at the round table. You end up seeing the same faces, or the same people that work for Mr. Susuki! 😂
The poor mafia folks use small restaurants and bars to racketeer on their level, while the top syndicates like Gambino and Lucchesse scale it up with mid size community establishments.
Then you have the Buffets and Gates that incorporate top branch financial establishments to funnel and clean the system from impurities. What does that even mean or how does it matter? How is it relevant in any way?
Pay the extra fees and let the Buffet mob hold your money. I hear you can find some excellent 12” coffee cans over Jersey (Joysee, correct pronunciation), no radioactive sh*t, unless you’re buying dog food!
😂🤣
De-dollarization has begun…..
https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/de-dollarization-more-countries-seek-alternatives-to-the-u-s-dollar/
Meh. It's all over but the shouting, violence and starvation folks. And has been for a while now.
IMO...
Hi Mark,
You so correct since I started to work , in forex and bases metals ( gold , silver , platinum and palladium) the negative correlation has been in place ... and still here , I am very very bullish gold , silver and platinum, less palladium.
But for those who follow this correlation, one thing we must do right is to guess if the usd is going north or south... are you sure that the fruit is ripe for the usd to go south .... I am not sure yet ... and I repeat I am very very bullish gold ... timing is the secret for me and for you .
Hi Mark , thank you for the articles , still believe that the usd is in a consolidation période since October 2022 and will end by June July 2023 , when the next up leg of the usd will start , still my view . Fed may pivot because we may enter a recession , since I started working in forex , in 1978 in all recession the usd was strong and the Fed was cutting rates .
Let’s keep in touch has spring bring us to summer when I believe the next up leg of the usd will start