The Biggest Folly in American History

Andy Snyder|May 16, 2022

We’re all screwed.

Inflation is surging.

It’s swelling up from the basement… bursting through the living room… and blasting through the roof. Now it’s headed for Elon Musk’s stars in the sky.

Retirees are wondering how they’re going to pay for it all.

Wannabe retirees are wondering where all their money went.

And the young and the hopeless… well, they’re just sticking their hand out waiting for somebody to feed them.

That’s how it goes these days.

Full Faith and Credit

To know where we’re headed, we’ve got to know where we’ve been.

It’s simple, really. It comes down to one line.

We spent far more than we have.

Strip away all the headlines. Cut through all the bureaucracy. And focus on the truth of the matter. There’s no other logical conclusion.

On a call with a few hundred folks last week, we were asked how we got here. Are we really in this inflationary bout because of high oil prices and supply chain issues?

Absolutely not.

We’re in it because… see above. We spent more than we have.

Twenty-four months ago, the government greatly overreacted to a pandemic. It shut everything down… but its printing press.

In one of the biggest follies in American history, it printed $5 trillion in brand-new money.

It printed so much money that the nation and its businesses couldn’t spend it fast enough.

Many states and local governments are still sitting on huge stockpiles of cash… staring at themselves, wondering how to spend it.

By its very definition, that is hugely inflationary.

But it gets worse.

This is the scary part… the part that shows just where America is headed – Screwtown, USA.

Buying Votes, Mortgaging the Future

Just last week, California’s desperate-to-get-reelected governor came up with a nightmarish plan.

He dreamed up an $18 billion “inflation relief” program for his constituents.

Yes, at the very same time the folks at the Federal Reserve are orchestrating a recession… at the very same time they’re purposefully trying to push folks out of jobs… and at the very same time they are very intentionally making it harder to live… another “not my money” politician is doing all he can to buy votes.

“This inflation relief package will help offset the higher costs that Californians are facing right now and provide support to those still recovering from the pandemic,” he said.

What he didn’t say is that the $400 he wants to put in every Californian voter’s pocket and the $750 million he wants to give already-stuffed municipalities is merely a down payment on the destruction of the state’s economy.

If the governor and his free-money cronies (who are looking to finance student loan handouts, trillions in infrastructure projects and grants for anybody who asks) across the nation get their way, this madness won’t just continue… it’ll get worse.

It’ll keep getting worse until the free market fully erodes and the system melts down.

Look around.

Our leaders love touting the country’s long, steady period of economic stability.

They’re lying.

Let’s be clear, dear reader: We’ve been writing these columns for a long time. We’re getting quite used to sharing “buy the dip” columns.

It’s solid advice. It’s a buyer’s dream. But watching the market fall is far from fun.

The crises are now frequent and jagged. And each one comes with a louder and louder refrain… “Have no fear, the government is here.”

The check is in the mail, they tell us as they rub our bellies.

Is it working?

Are things getting better?

The dot-com crash, the housing crash, the pandemic… and now whatever this is.

It’s not healthy. It’s not normal. The market is begging to clear itself of largesse and waste. But the folks in charge won’t let it happen.

The market needs a recession. It needs to erase trillions of dollars’ worth of excess liquidity.

Let it.

It’ll be painful… especially for the dopes who brought it to us.

But the alternative is more of the same – more crises, more bailouts and more dependence on the hand that feeds us.

Buy the dip. It’s the only choice.

And just pray that these dopes don’t create an even bigger one.