The 3 Drivers of US Consumers Hit a Wall
In short, consumer spending over the past year has been propped up by 3 things: incomes, savings, and debt. All are now out of runway.
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On the Edge of the Programmable Ledger: CBDCs
New Zealand’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), has opened a consultation on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). RBNZ believes that around 2030 they will ‘introduce digital cash to Aotearoa New Zealand.’
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Nihilism Strikes with a Vengeance
Today our concerns about nihilism have less to do with capitalism than with the cynical nihilism evident in the actions orchestrated by the group of multi-billionaires who are hellbent on destroying the lives of the rest of humanity by hook or by crook. These sub-humans evidently hold human lives – in fact, all life-forms – in such low regard, that they did not hesitate to promote bioweapons as legitimate ‘Covid-vaccines,’ while probably knowing full well what the effects of these experimental concoctions would be.
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2020 Pushed Minnesota Toward the Third World
When government takes on core tenets of civilized life, such as the right to associate, and presumes the right to manage the whole of private and public life including all civic institutions, under whatever excuse, what you end up with is something other than civilized life. Minnesota is just one case in point but the same afflicts many other places in the country and world, as the fallout from the disaster cascades through our lives.
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Renters and Owners Live in Separate Economies
In short, renters are in dire straits financially, while homeowners are “continuing to reap the rewards” of cheap pandemic money that left renters with nothing but inflation.
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A Fork in the Road of the EU
Sooner or later, EU citizens and political leaders will have to decide which Europe they wish to back: a highly integrated political union with major policies decided from Brussels, or an economic union of sovereign nations with central coordination reserved primarily for issues of mutual economic interest. Neither of these two options is guaranteed to succeed. But trundling along in a political and institutional halfway house, with policies that upset a lot of people but no serious attempt to articulate a shared vision of where Europe is headed or what it stands for, is a recipe for political mediocrity, disillusionment, and chronic instability.
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Media: Gen Z is Doomed
Years after the fact, the mainstream media is discovering that Gen Z is doomed. As CNN puts it, Gen Z is “earning less, has more debt, and higher delinquency rates than Millennials did at their age.”
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Journey through an Exposed America
The dominant tribe in much of America, and much of the Western world, is a band of supplicants to their cause. They wish to censor, restrict, control, and mandate because they have chosen a path of compliance and resent those who did not. There is nothing new in this, in historic terms, and the response is similarly established. Choosing humanity over rhetoric is the best way to prepare for whatever comes next.
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Oysters with a Side of Vindication
Oofy turned his attention to his second plate of oysters, then looked me in the eye. “The only thing that was 95% effective was the government propaganda. And of course the margin loans we all used to make squillions on the pharma share price gains. Don’t tell me you missed that boat too, Wooster. Good lord, you are a chump. Even the PM was in on it. His wife held the shares of course. Pass the lemon, there’s a good chap.”
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Money’s Grim Future
Viewing the importance of money through this lens of freedom and impact on the future, we could easily see that those with truly the most to lose were largely not present at the workshop. The young adults – whose lives will be impacted the most gravely should the economic stranglehold ensue – will not make their financial decisions freely according to their own obligations, their own goals, and their own dreams.
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The True Costs of Pandemic Prevention and Response
Given the poor evidence underlying pandemic cost and financing estimates, it is prudent not to rush into new pandemic initiatives until underlying assumptions and broad claims of a return on investment are properly assessed. These must be based on robust evidence, recognized need, and realistic measures of risk. WHO Member States will be better served by having transparent estimates that reflect reality and risk before they engage in such an uncertain and high-cost endeavour.
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Strong Economy? Think Again
It should be evident by now that the “strong” economy of the last several years was nothing of the kind. To the contrary, the Keynesian GDP accounts were actually inflated by deferred spending runoffs that flowed from the utterly abnormal buildup of household cash during Washington’s pandemic lockdowns and stimmy extravaganza.
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