Breaking the Deep State

Economic Prism Insights: Articles on Gold, Stocks, Inflation, and FOMCWhat in the world was going on with the nation’s finances under the Joe Biden administration?

It seems the public purse was at the whim of the wily, corrupt, money-grubbing Deep Staters. This certainly isn’t a novel insight.

The U.S. government and its many lobbyists, insiders, and parasites have been bleeding the host for many decades. However, for many years, there was at least some effort made to obscure the crimes. Somewhere along the line the larceny turned into a complete free for all.

DOGE extraordinaire, Elon Musk, believes the federal government under Biden was handing out hundreds of billions of dollars to fraudsters and people who don’t exist. Where money goes, when it goes to people who don’t exist is a mystery. Certainly, it must go somewhere.

According to estimates from the Government Accountability Office, the U.S. government made $236 billion in improper payments in fiscal year 2023. Improper payments are payments that should not have been made or were made in the incorrect amount. Continue reading

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Silent But Deadly

By his appearance, Jack Vale is a regular unassuming middle-aged man. He could be the guy in the flannel shirt that sells charcoal to you at your local hardware store. Offering tips on how to best smoke a Boston butt or a rack of St. Louis-style spare ribs.

Yet Vale, despite his ordinary appearance, regularly engages in anti-social behavior. Like many Americans he visits Walmart each week. But instead of buying T-shirts and toothpaste, he farts on people.

His son stands discreetly off to the side and records the ruckus with a hidden camera. Then Vale posts the videos to YouTube. With over 1.8 million subscribers, he’s making big bucks.

The farts, of course, are not real. Vale uses a gag toy he invented – The Pooter – to simulate the crude noise. People’s reactions range from disgust to laughter. “I like when people laugh,” remarks Vale in the About section of his YouTube channel.

Perhaps there are better, more productive ways to make it in life. Bringing eggs to market, for instance. Or extracting oil from the earth. Such activities create real wealth. Continue reading

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Milei Returns to Davos

Despite the reformers’ endless efforts to encircle mankind, there are those who persist beyond the broad extent of their casted nets. In the backwaters of the Republic, for instance, the distant rumble and flicker of Saturday night hootenannies still befall yonder the mighty oak groves.

In defiance of all things good and proper, the unconsecrated gather under the pale moonlight and jig step to zydeco washboard rhythms while downing tipples of corn syrup and fermented grain. These barn stompers certify that, even in this era of big government and mass fentanyl addiction, there remain places in the lower forty-eight where freedom reigns.

Across the planet there are pockets of liberty where individuals can use gas burning stovetops while safely out of the reach of the long arm of the law. These places are uniquely exceptional with their own distinct rhythms and rhymes. But, in common, they’re places where people’s only demand of government is to be left alone.

Similarly, the backwoods of the old world, rare as they may be, have not been entirely defamed. Continue reading

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Bessent Enters the Meat Grinder

Scott Bessent should have kept his mouth shut. He also should have kept his money in his pocket.

The billionaire had a good thing going. He was leading a charmed life managing his hedge fund Key Square Group and preserving historic pink mansions in Charleston with his husband and their kids. But that was before he threw his money and support behind Donald Trump’s election campaign.

In return, President-elect Trump nominated Bessent to be Secretary of the Treasury. Maybe that was Bessent’s plan all along. If so, there’s a good chance he’ll come to regret it.

This week Bessent faced his confirmation hearing with the Senate Finance Committee. He said he wants to be the steward of Trump’s economic agenda that will “unleash a new economic golden age.”

In the runup to the confirmation hearing Bessent found himself in Senator Elizabeth Warren’s cross hairs. Warren, if you didn’t know, has a plan for everything. In fact, at last count, she has 81 plans for big government solutions posted to her website. Continue reading

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