Fire and Brimstone: What’s Next for Wall Street

Andy Snyder|March 22, 2023

Things have gone to hell.

The rule of law in America…

Well, she ain’t what she used to be.

You’ve heard the news. You can reckon our opinion on it all. We won’t waste your time with it. Instead, we’ll steer the same conversation in a different way… a much more useful way.

We’ll start small. And then we’ll move on to a big topic that most certainly affects your money and what you do with it.

Joel mentioned the tragedy of social instability yesterday.

This is the next step in the idea…

We heard from our local fire chief the other night. In a small town like the one down the road from us, folks don’t like change all that much. So when the dozers broke ground on a new neighborhood being spearheaded by a national homebuilder, we expected to see some pushback.

“We’re not going in those houses,” the chief said. “If there’s a fire, my men will not go in.”

He says the homes are not safe.

It’s a head-scratcher.

What does that mean for the insurance companies? Has anybody told them?

Or how about the poor new homeowners? Will they find out only when Lil’ Timmy is hiding in his smoke-filled closet and the chief makes good on his word?

Each home has passed its mandatory inspection. The state deems them safe… or at least safe enough.

But the chief has his own opinion.

He remembers when his grandpa used to plow that field.

Somebody will get sued. Somebody may die.

It’s a lot like a lot of things these days.

A Shady Mess

We’ve got laws. Most are black and white. But the shadiness of politics distorts the picture.

Janet Yellen says some banks will see enhanced protection from the Treasury. Some folks will have their deposits north of $250,000 saved… but not all folks.

Oh no… certainly not all.

Will your deposits be saved?

Will ours?

Hers certainly will.

How about the Credit Suisse mess? It’s not in the U.S., but the forces behind it all are much the same. Over the weekend, the bank’s top-tier bondholders were wiped out. They’re owed nothing.

At the same time, shareholders got a $3 billion boost from taxpayers.

It’s backward. Bonds are senior to stocks.

But did you hear the Saudi National Bank is the largest shareholder?

Rule of law? Ha. Not with that kind of money.

And don’t think this is some new phenomenon. Obama did the same thing to buy some votes from his union friends. They got 40% of what they were owed from their pensions… while folks with secured debt (debt that should have been backed by those union pensions) got just $0.29 on the dollar.

It’s no wonder we’ve got what we’ve got.

We created our “Gone to Hell” scale shortly after launching this little rag of ours. It measures all the things needed to create a strong, vibrant economy and a flourishing society.

It’s seen plenty of downgrades lately.

The “rule of law” criterion has led the way downward… and we’ll soon rub our temple and move it another notch lower… maybe two.

It’s more proof that the biggest threat to your wealth is no longer whether you picked the right asset classes. That’s so 1960s.

Nope… the biggest threat to your wealth is the ruling class and its wayward actions.

Just look at the news.

Asset allocation has become an exercise in futility. It’s all for naught when the rules that govern it are being stomped on in the name of power and politics.

Hell isn’t easy to get out of.