Guest Post by Bill Bonner
PARIS – This week, the threads come together… the lines converge… the dots connect…
The State of the Union…
The Republicans and Democrats…
“Us vs. Them”…
Our own wobbly “us”…
…and the coming financial catastrophe.
Lies and Claptrap
No one wants to hear about the State of the Union speech (SOTUS). Full of bluff and bluster… lies and claptrap – all of them are best forgotten, and fast.
But we return to last week’s SOTUS, as to the site of a murder, not to bury the corpse but to praise him.
For there lies DJT… Donald John Trump… slain. Like Caesar, smitten in the Capitol, but by his own hand.
Our guess is that he will never rise again. A further guess is that he will take the nation down with him; we will look at those dots tomorrow.
The problem with his SOTUS was that it failed to mention anything that might be meaningful or helpful. That is, it avoided any mention of the real state of the union.
Who would report on a company and fail to mention that it was $22 trillion in debt… and was, at the time, losing money at the rate of approximately $100 billion per month… and that it had no plans – or even hope – of cutting its losses or heading off a monumental debt crisis?
Who would assess the state of a country without reference to the fact that it was slipping in every measure that matters – wealth per capita, business startups, patents, freedom, equality, and the integrity of its institutions?
What kind of a Commander in Chief would describe brave and heroic achievements from more than half a century ago, but lack the courage to confront an ongoing pattern of wasted lives and wasted trillions spent on military adventures with no coherent strategy, no possibility of victory, and no foreseeable end?
Alas, Mr. Donald J. Trump is that kind of guy.
Last Great Opportunity
And yet, it might have been so different. It was he who called Pentagon spending “crazy.” He said his predecessors had created a “big, fat, ugly bubble” in U.S. stocks. He said he saw the decline of the U.S. and offered to make it great again.
And so… last week, it was DJT’s last great opportunity to put his cards on the table. It was a chance to validate his campaign promises… to bring some sense of purpose to his administration… and to his life.
Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and taught by Roy Cohn, one of the sleaziest scalawags in U.S. political history, and held back by neither scruple, dignity, or peer pressure, Mr. Trump is unique in White House history.
No one expected Barack Obama to turn the tables on the insiders. Nor Hillary Clinton. Nor George Bush. They were all insiders themselves. But Trump? He was right again, in a way, saying that “only he” could fix the system.
He spent his whole life as an outsider – ridiculed and disparaged by the elite – preparing for it. Lying about his wealth, shamelessly building his brand, making a public spectacle of himself in newspapers, magazines, and on TV… and for what?
And then, against all odds, he won the world’s elected office. It was a remarkable achievement by a remarkable man. Trump defied them all – the party bosses… the pundits… the pollsters. And he won.
And wouldn’t it all be worth it… all the sacrifice and buffoonery… if he could one day stand on the podium and nudge the nation, even just a little, in the right direction?
Presidential Affliction
But that is the problem with politics. If you want to be elected, you have to pretend to care about people you’ve never met, and greet total strangers as if they were long lost friends.
So, too, you must dissemble about everything: You claim to have solutions to problems you don’t understand in the slightest… identify enemies who’ve done you no harm… and offer to rip off someone, somewhere, sometime in the future so you can pay off the cronies and zombies you need to get you elected today.
You have no time to think seriously about how a government should work… or what makes for a peaceful, prosperous society. Who would care anyway?
All you have left is the claptrap and lies of campaign slogans and stump speeches. And by the time you get to the White House, so much time and energy has been spent acting like a fool, that you’re no longer acting. You have become the jackass you pretended to be on the campaign trail.
This is a syndrome that has afflicted every president, to a greater or lesser extent, at least since Calvin Coolidge. Even Mr. Trump, for all his strength of character, couldn’t resist.
And so, his SOTUS took off like a rocket, soared into the clouds of America’s Great Past… and sank into the swamp of America’s tawdry present… leaving not a trace of dignity, honor, or intelligence floating on the surface.
That is the Swamp Mr. Trump pledged to drain. That is the Swamp that runs the country… and that is the Swamp that Mr. Trump couldn’t escape, even if he wanted to…
…Stay tuned.
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All U.S. presidents since 1913 suffer a recurring problem : Power attracts Pathological Personalities…Period
The U.S. is a Pathocracy
The Barnhardt Axiom
??
And that is why I trust no one.
Bill Bonner nailed it with this post. I have become so disgusted with Trump that I am actually at the point where I think we would have been better off if Hillary had won. At least we would have known where we stood right from the get-go, without having to endure the betrayal of watching him backtrack and flip-flop on every single campaign promise. Not only that, but we would have been spared the never-ending Russiagate nonsense.
“……I am actually at the point where I think we would have been better off if Hillary had won.
ABSOLUTELY NOT
But yes, Trump has turned out to be a Trojan horse.
Explain to me how you think we are any better off now than if Hillary had been elected.
Here comes “High Tax Hillary”
LIST OF HILLARY’S $ 1 TRILLION IN NEW TAX HIKES
The Great AmeriKan Trillion dollar tax hike – Hillary’s tax hike proposals will raise taxes on the American people by over $1,000,000,000,000 over the next ten years, based on her campaign’s own numbers
Payroll Tax Hike – Hillary said she would not veto a payroll tax increase on all Americans should such a bill reach her desk. She said she would set her middle class tax pledge aside. This took place Jan. 12 in Iowa, and it’s on video:
Moderator: “Democrats have introduced a plan that Senator Sanders supports that you’ve come out against because it is funded by a payroll tax. If that were to reach your desk as President, would you veto it in order to make good on your tax pledge?”
Hillary Clinton: “No. No.”
Soda Tax Hike – Hillary endorsed a steep new soda pop tax in Philadelphia. This will cost soda purchasers an extra $2.16 per 12-pack. Bernie Sanders called out Hillary’s violation of her middle class tax pledge:
“Frankly, I am very surprised that Secretary Clinton would support this regressive tax after pledging not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000. This proposal clearly violates her pledge,” he said. Sanders also said: “The mechanism here is fairly regressive. And that is, it will be increasing taxes on low-income and working people.”
25% National Gun Tax – Hillary endorsed a new national 25% retail sales tax on guns. “I am all for that,” she told the Senate in 1993. On June 5, 2016 she was asked about her gun tax endorsement by George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s This Week. She acknowledged her gun tax endorsement and did not disavow it, saying she wanted the gun tax money to pay for Hillarycare. If you have any doubts about her strong desire to impose a new gun tax, watch her face in the video.
Doubling of federal excise tax on guns — Hillary also endorsed a doubling of the existing federal excise tax on guns.
65% Death Tax – Hillary is now pushing a 65% Death Tax. And her own finances are arranged to shield herself from death taxes.
Capital Gains Tax Hike – Hillary has proposed the most complex and Byzantine capital gains tax regime in American history, with ten different rates. She raises the top capital gains tax rate from 23.8% to 43.4%.
No Corporate Income Tax Rate Relief for Anyone – Hillary offers no income tax rate reduction for any business. The USA has the highest corporate income tax in the world, which kills jobs and makes us less competitive. Even
Bill Clinton understands the need to cut the corporate rate.
No Personal Income Tax Rate Relief for Anyone – Hillary offers no income tax rate reduction for any American.
Carbon Tax – Hillary’s campaign has opened the door to a carbon tax if she wins the White House. Democrat Senate Leader Chuck Schumer is also fantasizing about a carbon tax under Hillary, and a carbon tax is part of the official 2016 Democrat party platform.
To learn more about Hillary’s tax hike plan, visit ATR’s dedicated website, http://www.HighTaxHillary.com
Yes, those taxes haven’t been implemented yet, but they will be as soon as Trump is replaced by his Democrat successor. He hasn’t done a single thing that will fundamentally reverse or even significantly slow down our current trajectory toward the edge of the cliff. Some would argue that his Supreme Court appointments are good, but his appointments will probably end up being Souter-type traitors. Even if they aren’t, and the Supreme Court somehow miraculously starts ruling with conservative majorities, Trump’s Democrat successor will do what most Republicans haven’t figured out yet, and tell the Supreme Court to go pound sand. The only possible consequence of ignoring the Supreme Court is impeachment, and that won’t happen with a Democrat majority in the House, which is going to be the case from now on indefinitely.
By the way, did you see the excellent comment that MrLiberty wrote yesterday on the other thread about “A California School Teacher Speaks”? It does a much better job than I could do explaining the futility of the wall that you are always clamoring for, and that Trump has wasted so much time and political capital fixating on.
He did promise to build the swamp and drain the wall.
Wait a minute………………….
Mr Bonner seems to think that the government is just a really big corporation. That is not the case. The government makes whatever money it wants to make and let’s you figure out how it happened. Clearly old bill is not to be trusted. Maybe his pipes are getting rusty.
I disagree about his pipes; consider that Bill Bonner is simply out of touch. All that fine and fancy Winter living on toney Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. Followed by pastoral endeavours at a chateau in idyllic France, and finally traumatized and PTSD’d by the occasional foray into the war zones that are Baltimore and NYC.
But given all that, Mr. Bonner writes crisply, concisely and knows a quite bit about money. Plus his social commentary is generally just the way I like it: sarcastic.
Is there anyone you can trust today Hollywood?
At least Bonner is not Hillary or Horse Face Coulter.
what’s your beef w/ann,yipper?
did she shooy one of your cousins when she was vacationing at the dudette ranch?
I just thought Horse Face Colter sounded cool. What’s it to you, chubby-chaser?
very hurtful,very untrue,jes cuz your buddy nkit accused me of something & fabricated evedence not make it true–
my cutoff is 275,300 if i’m drinking or out of town–
i detest coulter but imo she’s usually correct–
Thass rite, cuz Big Gurls need luv too, so dont be shy now, if it swells, ride it!!
That blustering fool was placed in that office .As they all are. He is a liar,fraud,pos
At the risk of redundancy, at least he is not Hillary.
“Make America Great Again”, or ” Flush America Down the Toilet”.
We only had 2 options on the ballot, whether or not voting even matters.
Bonner is making a fortune with his financial publishing empire, but my guess is he’s at least half as crooked as the Donald ever thought about being.
The posts below assume he is actually in command.
trump is about to screw up,rush!ann!,hop to it,rev up the base–it sounds like trump is on the verge of signing a deal that will only have peanuts in it for the wall–
however,the voters consider the wall to be as important as north korea or any other immigration issue–
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/february_2019/voters_rate_border_security_as_important_as_north_korea_to_national_security
…and he don’t want to.
Bonner should write for motherjones.com….maybe he does.
I would vote for the one who at least said what I wanted to hear, logically. Because the one who says outright that they’re going to screw you, surely will. Only other choice is withholding your vote.