Mailbag: “An Incredibly Stupid Article”… and Free Market Solutions

Andy Snyder|April 20, 2023

There’s great value in hearing many voices.

When we get a serious diagnosis from our doctor… we get a second opinion.

When our car makes an odd noise… we get a couple of mechanics to listen to it.

When the sewer backs up… we get thoughts from a few plumbers.

Is our mind worth less than a clogged drainpipe? We dare think not so.

With that, we turn to our beloved mailbag this early morning to see what you and your fellow readers have to say about our thoughts and not-so-rounded opinions.

Sometimes it hurts…

Incredibly stupid article. Not a single ounce [of] information that can be used in any value. He completely skews the facts wrong as it pertains to Dream for All and mortgage lending, then somehow tries to tie the ’70s/’80s as a comparison but doesn’t seem to really know where he’s going with it. How is this a value-add publication? – Reader R.M.

Yeesh… at least the plumber takes his shoes off (and dares to punctuate) before he kicks us in the gut.

This not-so-excited reader is referring to our recent essay about the latest publicly funded debacle in California. The Dream for All program has the state teaming up with potential homeowners to share equity and home price appreciation in real estate dealings.

It’s a disaster in the making.

In the days since we mentioned the program, it has devoured its budget. It took just 12 days to run through $300 million in funding.

And, as we warned would happen, the folks behind it are already screaming that it’s not enough. They want more… more… more.

“While we are off to a strong start, we can’t truly make a difference in opening the doors to building generational wealth for Californians – especially those who historically have faced systemic barriers to homeownership – without sustained funding,” said the senator behind the program.

We thought our warning that this sort of thing would cause massive dislocation and trouble in the real estate and mortgage market was enough of a value-add for an e-letter that hits your inbox each day for free.

But perhaps we were wrong. Second opinions are valuable.

So we’ll give you this extra nugget. It’ll save millions of dollars… and perhaps even save the nation.

Here it is…

Vote the buggers out. They’re ruining our nation and its economy.

Good as Gold

Our piece on gold got some attention too. This kinder note offers a good (and valuable) second opinion…

The error you are making by assuming there is not enough gold in the world for the world to go to gold is that governments have conspired to keep the yellow metal’s price in check. The reality is that gold could easily become the trading peg of the world if the amount of available gold was divided into the total global economy value. That would mean two years ago, before things began the big slide down, gold’s price should have been around $10,000 an ounce to maintain the world economy. Somewhat less now given the deteriorating world economy. – Reader P.H.

It’s a fair point that deserves a little further explanation. When we say there’s not enough gold on Earth to match gross world product, we mean at current prices. The value of the stuff would have to soar manyfold to reach the level of the world’s production and her debt.

If that were allowed to happen, it’d be very good for today’s gold owners. They’d be rich. But it’d be very bad for governments and the folks who dare not to bother to own the world’s oldest currency.

They’d be poor.

For that reason… it’s a nonstarter. Government officials tend not to vote themselves out of their jobs.

More on the subject…

You don’t seem to realize what a find you have made with [redacted]. I have been searching for what can be done with gold once you own it if a country bans all currency except its own cryptocurrency – UNTIL NOW! This company says: “We offer tailor-made solutions enabling businesses and institutions of all sizes to integrate seamlessly with [redacted] technology.” This seems to indicate that even if a country economically penalizes its political enemies, businesses can integrate [redacted] so that its customers and themselves would have an alternative if they prepare in advance. You should take your report to this level because you can’t “eat” gold any other way under those conditions.

You are the greatest! YOUR REPORT CAN SAVE HALF THE COUNTRY. You’ve got to get this report out to red businesses. – Reader B.M.

Our apologies for redacting the name of the company behind all of this. We had to. Our Manward Letter subscribers pay good money each year to get access to reports like this one.

Even without the company’s name spelled out, the idea here is useful. There is a solution – a free market solution – to what’s happening.

If we let it, a capitalist economy will solve its own problems.

The government, on the other hand, will only beg for more money.

We’ll end with some words that remind us of how Mrs. Manward sounds when she brags to her friends about our “tolerable beauty.”

Your comments are interesting and sometimes are useful. Knowledge stacks up. – Reader R.R.

We’ll take it!

Keep the second opinions coming. Email us at mailbag@manwardpress.com.