Tag: socialism

Quantitative easing was the father of millennial socialism

Guest Post by David McWilliams

Is Ben Bernanke the father of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? Not in the literal sense, obviously, but in the philosophical and political sense.

As we mark the 10th anniversary of the bull market, it is worth considering whether the efforts of the US Federal Reserve, under Mr Bernanke’s leadership, to avoid 1930s-style debt deflation ended up spawning a new generation of socialists, such as the freshman Congresswoman Ms Ocasio-Cortez, in the home of global capitalism.

Mr Bernanke’s unorthodox “cash for trash” scheme, otherwise known as quantitative easing, drove up asset prices and bailed out baby boomers at the profound political cost of pricing out millennials from that most divisive of asset markets, property. This has left the former comfortable, but the latter with a fragile stake in the society they are supposed to build.

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Billionaire investor’s take on America’s socialist fever

Guest Post by Simon Black

Howard Marks is one of the smartest, wealthiest investors in the world.

As founder of Oaktree Capital, Marks manages around $120 billion. And his track record ranks him among the greatest investors in history.

So it’s probably no surprise that Marks is deeply concerned about “the rising tide of anti-capitalism,” and dedicated one of his famous memos to this new political trend.

In the eyes of anti-capitalists, wealthy people, big businesses, and investment funds are all evil. Period.

Just look at how New York City pushed Amazon to walk away from its multi-billion dollar expansion there: these anti-capitalists aren’t rational. This is no longer a political agenda. They’re waging a holy war… it’s a bizarre jihad against prosperity.

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The State as Parasitoid

Guest Post by Joel Bowman

Throughout modern history, few political ideologies have been so effective at disarming and asphyxiating its host as collectivism.

Regardless of how the assault begins – be it bloody revolution, domestic coup d’etat, foreign aggression or by self-inflicted, democratic process – once collectivism has found its foothold, the prognosis for the host is universally bleak.

Where merely parasitic institutions, such as monarchies, may take generations, even centuries, to either descend into madness or fade into irrelevance (and sometimes both); the collectivist parasitoid proves itself an exceptionally expedient killer.

The key to the latter’s success, it seems, lies largely in its insidious mode of attack.

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WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT MEETS FYRE FESTIVAL

“When a condition or a problem becomes too great, humans have the protection of not thinking about it. But it goes inward and minces up with a lot of other things already there and what comes out is discontent and uneasiness, guilt and a compulsion to get something–anything–before it is all gone.” ― John Steinbeck, The Winter of Our Discontent

Image result for winter of our discontent Image result for fyre festival

Sometimes I wonder about strange coincidences. In an email exchange with Marc (Hardscrabble Farmer) in the Fall, he mentioned he had begun reading Steinbeck’s Winter of Our Discontent and planned to write an article about it. Coincidentally, I had just bought a used copy of the same novel at Hooked on Books in Wildwood. I didn’t plan on buying it, but I’ve read most of Steinbeck’s brilliant novels and felt compelled by the title and our national state of discontent to select it from among the thousands of books in the store.

Marc had posted his Steinbeck-esque article in December, but I didn’t read it until I had finished the novel. Marc’s perspective on the value of money and his diametrically opposite path from Ethan Hawley, the discontented anti-hero of Steinbeck’s final novel, was enlightening and thought provoking. I’m sure it impacted my consciousness as I wrote this article.

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America’s Socialist Revolution has officially begun

Guest Post by Simon Black

On October 31, 1517, an obscure German theology professor put the finishing touches on a paper he had written about the current state of the Catholic Church, and sent it off to Archbishop Albert of Brandenberg for review.

The professor’s letter was polite and professional, with a formal tone that one might find in a modern academic work. It could hardly be described as revolutionary.

Yet within a few years, the professor would find himself excommunicated by the Pope, branded an outlaw and heretic and living in hiding under the protection of an army of followers.

His name, of course, was Martin Luther. And the publication of his famous paper, the 95 Theses, is often viewed as the start of the Protestant Reformation, one of the most important social movements in history.

The reformation was a European-wide rejection of Church authority. But its origins far predate Luther or his 95 Theses.

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As the Games Begin: The One about the Jews, the Baby, & the Bathwater

By Doug “Uncola” Lynn via TheBurningPlatform.com

 

Certainly any one who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.

– Voltaire. (1765). “Questions sur les Miracles”.

 

This blogger has posted over 120 original essays since the fall of 2016. With topics ranging from politics to philosophy, I’ve strived to be true for the most part; and, at the very least, accurate.  In so doing, I would attempt to find three separate ways to vet source material – and, in my mind at least, I’ve built some trust with the readers and believe my essays, so far, have stood the test of time.  But if I ever wrote anything blatantly false, everything written henceforth by me, as well as my past articles, should be viewed with greater suspicion by the readers; and for good reason.

Accordingly, we are very fortunate to have the internet; at the very least, for its processing capabilities.  It is in the digital rooms of the interwebic blogosphere where intelligent people face-off in a virtual mixed-martial-arts cage fight where free thought and speech, link attributions, and interactive media, are traded like jabs, uppercuts, body-blows, and roundhouse kicks.  Using the ethernet to test ideas could also be compared to running software at the speed of light, with multiple programming variations, and zero real life consequences; until, that is, we choose to apply the computations. And this is when it becomes risky business.

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Capitalism Without Competition

Guest Post by John Mauldin

The Soviet Union’s collapse and spread of semi-free markets through Eastern Europe seemingly ended the socialism vs. capitalism argument. Capitalism had won. Collectivist economies everywhere began turning free. Even communist China adopted a form of free market capitalism although, as they say, with “Chinese characteristics.”

The fruits of capitalism: millions of people freed from abject poverty and a few who got rich indeed. Nor is this a recent phenomenon. Capitalism in the last three centuries, with all its faults and problems, with all its contradictions, generated the greatest accumulation of wealth in human history. From a few hundred years ago when the vast majority of the people of the world lived below the poverty line, barely above subsistence levels, today we have less than 10% doing so and that number is shrinking every year.

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Taxes, Taxes And More Taxes: The Radical Economic Agenda Of The Left Has A Surprising Level Of Public Support

Guest Post by Michael Snyder

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Taxes-Public-Domain.jpg#main

The left wants to raise your taxes, and most Americans are okay with that.  I was shocked by the numbers that I am about to share with you, and I think that you will be shocked too.  Once upon a time, being labeled as a “tax and spend liberal” was one of the worst things that could happen to a politician.  During the presidential election of 1984, Walter Mondale was very honest about the fact that he wanted to raise taxes on the American people, and Ronald Reagan absolutely crushed him with that.  In the end, it was one of the greatest election night landslides in history.  But this time around we could potentially see the opposite.  If things go badly for Trump, we could actually see a “tax and spend liberal” turn the map mostly blue in 2020.  I know that sounds very, very strange, but the latest poll numbers show that the American people strongly support raising taxes on the wealthy.

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Postludes & Preludes: The Show Goes On

By Doug “Uncola” Lynn via TheBurningPlatform.com

Due to another commitment, this blogger missed Trump’s live State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 5, 2019. But in watching the pundits on both sides of the aisle afterwards, highlights from the speech, as well as the instant poll results – it immediately appeared to have been an overall win for the president.

According to polls by CBS and CNN, 76% of viewers approved of the speech, with 72% appreciating Trump’s ideas on immigration, and even those in the media were “stunned by the State of the Union’s appeal to both sides”.

Although the president did take further ownership of the economy, he also attempted to insulate himself against future financial woes and conflicts at home and abroad when he said:

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WSJ Warns The New Democratic Agenda Sure Looks Like Socialism

Via ZeroHedge

Now that President Trump has criticized the “new calls to adopt socialism in this country,” Democrats and the media are already protesting that the socialist label doesn’t apply to them.

But, as The Wall Street Journal asks (and answers), what are they afraid of – the label or their own ideas – because the new Democratic agenda sure looks like government control over the means of production.

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This single stat shows why the wave of socialism is only growing

Guest Post by Simon Black

Every so often throughout history, the peasants grab their pitchforks and come for the elite. It happens when the wealth gap grows too extreme… when people feel like they are getting left behind, with no opportunity to advance.

Central banks around the world have printed trillions of dollars over last decade, and pushed interest rates to zero, and sometimes below. And all of that stimulus went directly into the pockets of the wealthy.

Since 2009, the world’s billionaires more than DOUBLED their combined wealth. All the billionaires in the world had $3.4 trillion in 2009. By 2017, they amassed $8.9 trillion.

Mark Zuckerberg multiplied his wealth almost 20 times over, from $3 billion in 2009, to over $58 billion in 2019.

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The rise of Socialism: Standing on the shoulders of morons

Guest Post by Simon Black

I’ve spent the last several days in this quaint Colombian city near the Venezuelan border (though I’m presently at the airport, en route to Chile for a board meeting).

As I’ve discussed several times in the past, Colombia is great. It’s naturally gorgeous, incredibly cheap, and full of interesting opportunities.

The country has recently emerged from decades of civil war. And the rebuilding efforts will have a profound impact on the economy… most notably with the national infrastructure.

Colombia’s highways are pitiful.

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Why The Right Should Start Taking Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Seriously

Guest Post by Jesse Kelly

Earlier this week, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez put up a tweet so mind-numbingly stupid that simply calling it “factually incorrect” would be an insult to the word “incorrect.” As is to be expected in the social media world, folks on the right ripped the incoming congresswoman to shreds for it.

Here were some of the typical responses: “This is factually incorrect!” “We cannot have someone this stupid in the government!” “This is what happens when we elect someone with no experience.” “Sure, this message is popular. Too bad it’s all wrong.”

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A Modern-Day Paul Revere Not Warning of Noah’s Flood at a Wedding

By Doug “Uncola” Lynn via TheBurningPlatform.com

 

They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

– Luke 17:27

 

Over the last three months I’ve attended three weddings.  Whatever getting married in a barn signifies or portends, it’s trending, because that was the case for two out of my last three invitations.  Although one of the earlier ceremonies was held in an actual barn, the wedding and reception facilities where I attended this last Saturday appeared to have been specifically remade for human mammals because the venue was beyond elegant.

Being the very first betrothal I can recall ever attending in the month of December, it was no surprise the weather was bad given this time of year.  Fortunately, however, all of the important people were there.  Again, it wasn’t the storm that mattered that evening, but rather, more importantly, who showed-up for the feast. The accommodations were first class, and with all of the beautiful people in attendance, I commented to another guest it was like being in a movie or, at the very least, at a television awards ceremony.

The next morning one of my offspring texted me the following:

 

Was impressed last night by all the people who came up to you just to chat or for your advice and your handling of what could have been an awkward situation

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MAD WORLD

And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it’s a very very
Mad world, mad world

Image result for the primal scream

The haunting Gary Jules version of the Tears for Fears’ Mad World speaks to me in these tumultuous mad times. It must speak to many others, as the music video has been viewed over 132 million times. The melancholy video is shot from the top of an urban school building in a decaying decrepit bleak neighborhood with school children creating various figures on the concrete pavement below. The camera pans slowly to Gary Jules singing on the rooftop and captures the concrete jungle of non-descript architecture, identical office towers, gray cookie cutter apartment complexes, and a world devoid of joy and vibrancy.

The song was influenced by Arthur Janov’s theories in his book The Primal Scream. The chorus above about his “dreams of dying were the best he ever had” is representative of letting go of this mad world and being free of the monotony and release from the insanity of this world. Our ego fools us into thinking the madness of this world is actually normal. Day after day we live lives of quiet desperation. Despite all evidence our world is spinning out of control and the madness of the crowds is visible in financial markets, housing markets, politics, social justice, and social media, the level of normalcy bias among the populace has reached astounding levels, as we desperately try to convince ourselves everything will be alright. But it won’t.

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