Wholeheartedly agree with you Chris. And although I’m a registered democrat since 1978, I’ll continue to hold my nose and vote republican until the democrats stop supporting mentally ill lunatics cutting off children’s genitalia. Thats step number one for me with numerous other steps needed before they’re more than just the full-grown theater kid party.
The thing that fascinates me about Trump is that he doesn't even try to hide his financial malfeasance. He literally is in our faces with it and no one seems to give a fig. It's beyond my understanding.
"If we truly lived in a pure free market where everyone understood the risks, did their own homework, and accepted the consequences of losing money, I’d be perfectly happy letting buyers beware and pulling all regulation."
You could expand this cogent thought to a series of essays.
Your point being that there's always a bailout because when losses are broad, politicians feel heat. The answer is always to dilute the currency to dilute the loss impact. Lately Democrats are coming for income producing real estate because it's the last place where currency
One of the main things I have enjoyed about this sub is that it tends to remain somewhat non political. Its particularly void of the polarity and willful blindness that infects so much today.
But with the direction things are headed. I dont know. Im just getting out right disgusted and angry at every direction I look.
Michael Cohen has a radio gig now on what was understood to be a relatively conservative radio station. I am all for 2nd chances. But Michael Cohen? Could an attorney abdicate his obligation to a client any more thoroughly?
Larry Kudlow with pom poms cheering on lower and lower rates.
We got a 20 year old kid in a sweat shirt exposing 100 billion after 100 billion dollar fraud...and I mean blatantly obvious frauds. Nothing being done about it.
Maine almost ran a potential rapist, Nazi communist with a Kik account posing in a towel as his profile picture for US Senate. I know if that were me..id be fighting for my freedom against heavy criminal charges. Whole deal stunk of obvious cover-up and gaslighting. Anyone see the vocal fry guy who scrubbed Platners past? I mean come TF on dude. Seriously? That dude is a heavy weight in politics??!?!?
Regulatory capture infects every aspect of government. The list could be increased all day long.
NYC Socialists are clearly gearing up for private property seizures through beuracratic process.
Trump 💯 got now...the blob absorbed him. Its written all over every infintile SM post he makes.
Yep. Zero accountability anywhere anylonger.
Sorry for the rant...but Im about ready to head to the mountains and be content to see the whole fucking thing burn to the ground.
Not that this one interview forms my opinion on its own. Its more a totality of obvious facts gathered throughout a life of reading, watching and listening. The 2 ideologies have way more in common than not. Im with Griff on this one. Sorry NF.
That aside..the acused rapist/former senate candidate possessed an SS tatoo...and was vocal about his communist ideology. It adds up.
Oh I agree about people being held accountable. The more time goes by, the more Trump just starts looking like a different flavor of crook than the Democrats. I’d been hoping for “substantially less crooked” but I suppose that was naïveté. I would be happy for any semblance of honesty.
I agree with everything you say here, except this: The Democrat party is about slogans and sayings. They claim they are the party of workers and the common man. The entire party is one big PsyOp to convince 50.1% of voters that Democrats have their back (or, more precisely, that the other side is the greater evil).
If Democrats get elected, there will be promises; there will be optics; there will be enforcement pantomime. But make no mistake, it is all theater.
This is no endorsement for Republicans. In many ways, they are much worse. Trump likely will be impeached and convicted this time. And, he'll have earned it.
But no one should think the wolf in sheep's clothing is coming to save them. They are both a bunch of villains grabbing everything that's not nailed down.
I’m sorta stunned by your remark “I still think Trump is a better option than anyone on the left side of the aisle when it comes to the Presidency.” While I agree that the Democrats have run a disastrous series of candidates after Obama, I just cannot get on board with the Tangerine Turd’s egomaniacal vain narcissistic corrupt incompetence. And his deep psychological wounds that drive him to venerate himself putting his name and photo on every fucking thing. He is mentally ill and in charge of the world’s most powerful country. If this blog, that I really enjoy, becomes any semblance of a defence, much less proponent of Trump I will cancel my subscription.
Brett, I'm on board with you almost all the way. I am a Ronald Reagan Republican and, indeed, one of the five founding members of The Federalist Society (1982, at Yale Law School). I have been vigorous in my view that, much as the Democrats in general and Kamala Harris in particular are generally hideous, Trump would be even worse. And I think I have been vindicated. With the latest antics of Todd Blanche and the slush fund, I finally dropped my long-time Republican registration out of shame. Now an independent.
Where I part company with you is this: Chris is a critical thinker. He is calling out the Trump corruption. That's a huge difference from the tribal MAGA mouth-breathing crowd.
I hope Chris comes around to our viewpoint about Trump & today's GOP: a guy who tried to steal an election and, in effect, overthrow the Constitutional order deserved to be impeached and convicted, and it's tragic to see what a crowd of cowardly lickspittles and toadies most Republicans in Congress have become.
But in the meantime, let's appreciate the great work Chris does and engage with him civilly. Building a coalition of the sensible takes time and effort.
First off Larry - thanks for your note. I too am a registered Independent. Who lived in London for 12 years and Sydney for 3 so I’m fortunate to have lived under other systems of governance and healthcare. All that said, I’m with ya on Chris and his thought process - I quite like this blog and find it useful and thought provoking. But I can’t abide any tolerance whatsoever for what trump provoked on January 6th or his pardoning of the insurrectionists. Or his imperial presidency and attempted punishments of his enemies. Has he done some good stuff? Yes. Closing the border after Biden’s mess (and i also worked in maquiladoras for 3 years, crossing the border both ways every workday) and getting rid of DEI. Both of which were Democrat follies. But look where he and his team of arse lickers have got us to - inflation and a massive federal deficit that if/when it rears his head in the bond market it will be catastrophic for the average ‘merkin. BTW - Chris had a terrific post on this recently. So if Biden had kept his promise and fucked off after one term and the Democrats had conducted a proper primary (and NOT chosen Kamala) i think we’d be living in a different and better situation. And i hope Chris agrees with that.
Mark, yes, the insider trading by both elected Congressional members from both parties is a disgrace. And there was certainly corruption in the Biden Administration. But let's not deny the obvious: it's (literally) 100 times worse (or more in terms of dollars) under Trump.
I agree that crypto's Judgement Day is coming. Most cryptos are either valuation unmeasurable or outright scams.
But ironically, paradoxically or just plain logically, I believe that crypto speculators who don't get rekt will move their money into Bitcoin. Wiping out the altcoins might result in propping up Bitcoin.
Passive, rudderless investing gets punished (pick your index fund). Following the latest shiny object gets punished (Pets.com). Failing to examine and understand the business gets punished (Enron).
Setting a match to capital is easy. Determining an accurate number for intrinsic value requires study. Graham's Security Analysis is a slog. But once you understand the theses, you gravitate towards slow boring. It was ever thus.
1. Regarding regulation, I agree that we could use some objective regulation of not just our large financial systems, but capitalism in general. Why does Capitalism have to have "planned obsolescence" built in, and lack "right to repair"?
2. It seems to me that the difference between right and left is a distraction. We're conditioned to get all amped up about the horizontal, but it's the vertical battle that we're losing in every election. Whether it's Obama or Trump, we lose.
Actually your two points are intertwined. On #2- the government is run by a uniparty with two sides to provide the distraction to the public. #1- international corporations feed the uniparty to get the regulations/laws that largely remove competition, think create less choices. Always for the public good. As you pay more and more for less and less. There are isolated areas where the free market still "works". But, think about it, if you are a corporate exec- the ROI on few million in campaign donations to protect your 100million business interests from new innovation or low cost upstart is money well spent.
👏👏👏👏Agree completely. Would still vote for Trump,again for multiple reasons given who the choices ( Hillary, Biden, Kabaka) were, both from the sake of the economy and even more importantly the Supreme Court. But his actions, combined with those of his family and many of his appointees ( Lutnick being the poster boy) and associates, have greatly increased my concerns about his deal mentality , arrested development that makes everything and always about him, and lack of any ethical framework . Washington has just been transformed from a D Swamp to an R Swamp. And the crony capitalism and now abhorrent state capitalism seem to know no bounds, it is an atmosphere of the government picking winners and losers.
My only hope is that since he is term limited and the Dems ability to inflict serious wounds upon themselves ( think Omar, Platner, DSA , Mamdami, as infinitum) that our next president may be a Republican with a true moral compass ( e.g. Marco or less likely Tulsi) and the Dems will not win control of both houses of Congress in either 2026 or 2028. They really are a party with no consensus at all expect for their extreme lust for power.
So I remain invested, but understand the music may abruptly changes tunes, attempt to manage extreme risk control, invest in managements with good businesses and excellent long term potential good FREE cash flow , shareholder oriented and at least semi reasonable valuations 🙂🙂. My surprise is that I continue to discover new opportunities that continue to have a reasonable combination of these characteristics . So despite being 84 years old I will continue to remain invested in companies that perhaps will remain in my portfolio { or more likely my heirs) for the next 20 to 40 years as some of my most successful investments have done. I suggest to everyone who asks me that if your temperament and emotional make up allows, you should only be investing in long term value situations which will continue to accrete value during the next bear market even if it not reflected in the price. Otherwise, have a vey defensive portfolio with a lot of non equity type investments or remain very short term trader.
You are right that Trump is the better option for the country than any option on the left. But in the early 2010s, I realized there was no hope in saving our country because everyone in government is either in it to enrich themselves, do things on behalf of a foreign entity, or both. Voting was pointless. Wrote in Ron Paul instead of voting for McCain in 2008 and did not vote in 2012. Got excited with Trump in 2016. Although disappointed with his first term, reluctantly voted for him in 2020. Realized the game is rigged even more than I thought and said thats it,
America is a dying empire with a steadily declining currency, a military that is fueled up on weaponry that was great for fighting wars in the 90s for 4th generation warfare and making tons of money for the military industrial complex, and leadership that gives lip service to helping the everyday man while enriching themselves.
Cracks are forming in the bonds between people as they become poorer and the quality of life decline. People expect that service will be terrible and the quality of products will also be terrible (the shitification of everything). So Americans are becoming tribal, split based on race, politics, religion, class, sex, urban/rural, and age. Young men are becoming radicalized or withdrawn because they see very little hope in their future as their prospects for a family become bleak. Strong men with charisma will arise to unite them and that is when things go crazy. When it happens, who knows. I expect a slow grind for awhile, but people are slowly starting to fight back (Ireland and England). So find your tribe and hang on as things will get rough.
Wholeheartedly agree with you Chris. And although I’m a registered democrat since 1978, I’ll continue to hold my nose and vote republican until the democrats stop supporting mentally ill lunatics cutting off children’s genitalia. Thats step number one for me with numerous other steps needed before they’re more than just the full-grown theater kid party.
The thing that fascinates me about Trump is that he doesn't even try to hide his financial malfeasance. He literally is in our faces with it and no one seems to give a fig. It's beyond my understanding.
"If we truly lived in a pure free market where everyone understood the risks, did their own homework, and accepted the consequences of losing money, I’d be perfectly happy letting buyers beware and pulling all regulation."
You could expand this cogent thought to a series of essays.
Your point being that there's always a bailout because when losses are broad, politicians feel heat. The answer is always to dilute the currency to dilute the loss impact. Lately Democrats are coming for income producing real estate because it's the last place where currency
dilution is hedged.
One of the main things I have enjoyed about this sub is that it tends to remain somewhat non political. Its particularly void of the polarity and willful blindness that infects so much today.
But with the direction things are headed. I dont know. Im just getting out right disgusted and angry at every direction I look.
Michael Cohen has a radio gig now on what was understood to be a relatively conservative radio station. I am all for 2nd chances. But Michael Cohen? Could an attorney abdicate his obligation to a client any more thoroughly?
Larry Kudlow with pom poms cheering on lower and lower rates.
We got a 20 year old kid in a sweat shirt exposing 100 billion after 100 billion dollar fraud...and I mean blatantly obvious frauds. Nothing being done about it.
Maine almost ran a potential rapist, Nazi communist with a Kik account posing in a towel as his profile picture for US Senate. I know if that were me..id be fighting for my freedom against heavy criminal charges. Whole deal stunk of obvious cover-up and gaslighting. Anyone see the vocal fry guy who scrubbed Platners past? I mean come TF on dude. Seriously? That dude is a heavy weight in politics??!?!?
Regulatory capture infects every aspect of government. The list could be increased all day long.
NYC Socialists are clearly gearing up for private property seizures through beuracratic process.
Trump 💯 got now...the blob absorbed him. Its written all over every infintile SM post he makes.
Yep. Zero accountability anywhere anylonger.
Sorry for the rant...but Im about ready to head to the mountains and be content to see the whole fucking thing burn to the ground.
"Nazi communist" is an indication you definitely have consumed all the narratives.
And that comment is an indication that you have not done enough reading, watching or listening. Maybe this will help.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F2z2Lhvd8YM
Not that this one interview forms my opinion on its own. Its more a totality of obvious facts gathered throughout a life of reading, watching and listening. The 2 ideologies have way more in common than not. Im with Griff on this one. Sorry NF.
That aside..the acused rapist/former senate candidate possessed an SS tatoo...and was vocal about his communist ideology. It adds up.
😘
Oh I agree about people being held accountable. The more time goes by, the more Trump just starts looking like a different flavor of crook than the Democrats. I’d been hoping for “substantially less crooked” but I suppose that was naïveté. I would be happy for any semblance of honesty.
Joanna, it's not just a "different flavor." Biden was crooked, but Trump is crooked on steroids.
The pardoning of Trevor Milton absolutely disgusted me. Guy deserved every day of his sentence in the clink.
Totally agree...
What a beautiful essay.
A little more regulation, a little more honesty, a little less industrial-scale criminality.
I agree with everything you say here, except this: The Democrat party is about slogans and sayings. They claim they are the party of workers and the common man. The entire party is one big PsyOp to convince 50.1% of voters that Democrats have their back (or, more precisely, that the other side is the greater evil).
If Democrats get elected, there will be promises; there will be optics; there will be enforcement pantomime. But make no mistake, it is all theater.
This is no endorsement for Republicans. In many ways, they are much worse. Trump likely will be impeached and convicted this time. And, he'll have earned it.
But no one should think the wolf in sheep's clothing is coming to save them. They are both a bunch of villains grabbing everything that's not nailed down.
I’m sorta stunned by your remark “I still think Trump is a better option than anyone on the left side of the aisle when it comes to the Presidency.” While I agree that the Democrats have run a disastrous series of candidates after Obama, I just cannot get on board with the Tangerine Turd’s egomaniacal vain narcissistic corrupt incompetence. And his deep psychological wounds that drive him to venerate himself putting his name and photo on every fucking thing. He is mentally ill and in charge of the world’s most powerful country. If this blog, that I really enjoy, becomes any semblance of a defence, much less proponent of Trump I will cancel my subscription.
Brett, I'm on board with you almost all the way. I am a Ronald Reagan Republican and, indeed, one of the five founding members of The Federalist Society (1982, at Yale Law School). I have been vigorous in my view that, much as the Democrats in general and Kamala Harris in particular are generally hideous, Trump would be even worse. And I think I have been vindicated. With the latest antics of Todd Blanche and the slush fund, I finally dropped my long-time Republican registration out of shame. Now an independent.
Where I part company with you is this: Chris is a critical thinker. He is calling out the Trump corruption. That's a huge difference from the tribal MAGA mouth-breathing crowd.
I hope Chris comes around to our viewpoint about Trump & today's GOP: a guy who tried to steal an election and, in effect, overthrow the Constitutional order deserved to be impeached and convicted, and it's tragic to see what a crowd of cowardly lickspittles and toadies most Republicans in Congress have become.
But in the meantime, let's appreciate the great work Chris does and engage with him civilly. Building a coalition of the sensible takes time and effort.
First off Larry - thanks for your note. I too am a registered Independent. Who lived in London for 12 years and Sydney for 3 so I’m fortunate to have lived under other systems of governance and healthcare. All that said, I’m with ya on Chris and his thought process - I quite like this blog and find it useful and thought provoking. But I can’t abide any tolerance whatsoever for what trump provoked on January 6th or his pardoning of the insurrectionists. Or his imperial presidency and attempted punishments of his enemies. Has he done some good stuff? Yes. Closing the border after Biden’s mess (and i also worked in maquiladoras for 3 years, crossing the border both ways every workday) and getting rid of DEI. Both of which were Democrat follies. But look where he and his team of arse lickers have got us to - inflation and a massive federal deficit that if/when it rears his head in the bond market it will be catastrophic for the average ‘merkin. BTW - Chris had a terrific post on this recently. So if Biden had kept his promise and fucked off after one term and the Democrats had conducted a proper primary (and NOT chosen Kamala) i think we’d be living in a different and better situation. And i hope Chris agrees with that.
I was also stunned by this, and not just sorta. That’s the attitude that has gotten us into this mess. Fascism is a hard No for me.
Yeah, I responded to that comment; hope you'll take a look.
May I suggest this instead?
https://substack.com/@arkinvestmentmanagement?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2n9rzo
Democrats sure like participating in the markets as well. They have as many insider traders as republicans.
Mark, yes, the insider trading by both elected Congressional members from both parties is a disgrace. And there was certainly corruption in the Biden Administration. But let's not deny the obvious: it's (literally) 100 times worse (or more in terms of dollars) under Trump.
And, the latest? My lord!
https://kingcambo812.substack.com/p/dumpster-fire-digest-29
I agree that crypto's Judgement Day is coming. Most cryptos are either valuation unmeasurable or outright scams.
But ironically, paradoxically or just plain logically, I believe that crypto speculators who don't get rekt will move their money into Bitcoin. Wiping out the altcoins might result in propping up Bitcoin.
Passive, rudderless investing gets punished (pick your index fund). Following the latest shiny object gets punished (Pets.com). Failing to examine and understand the business gets punished (Enron).
Setting a match to capital is easy. Determining an accurate number for intrinsic value requires study. Graham's Security Analysis is a slog. But once you understand the theses, you gravitate towards slow boring. It was ever thus.
I’d argue that crypto has been seeking regulatory clarity rather than fighting regulation.
Two things
1. Regarding regulation, I agree that we could use some objective regulation of not just our large financial systems, but capitalism in general. Why does Capitalism have to have "planned obsolescence" built in, and lack "right to repair"?
2. It seems to me that the difference between right and left is a distraction. We're conditioned to get all amped up about the horizontal, but it's the vertical battle that we're losing in every election. Whether it's Obama or Trump, we lose.
Actually your two points are intertwined. On #2- the government is run by a uniparty with two sides to provide the distraction to the public. #1- international corporations feed the uniparty to get the regulations/laws that largely remove competition, think create less choices. Always for the public good. As you pay more and more for less and less. There are isolated areas where the free market still "works". But, think about it, if you are a corporate exec- the ROI on few million in campaign donations to protect your 100million business interests from new innovation or low cost upstart is money well spent.
To your point, neither party wants to make the desperately needed reforms of Medicare and Social Security.
George Wallace said it back in the 60s: There's not a dime's worth of difference between the Democrat and Republican parties.
👏👏👏👏Agree completely. Would still vote for Trump,again for multiple reasons given who the choices ( Hillary, Biden, Kabaka) were, both from the sake of the economy and even more importantly the Supreme Court. But his actions, combined with those of his family and many of his appointees ( Lutnick being the poster boy) and associates, have greatly increased my concerns about his deal mentality , arrested development that makes everything and always about him, and lack of any ethical framework . Washington has just been transformed from a D Swamp to an R Swamp. And the crony capitalism and now abhorrent state capitalism seem to know no bounds, it is an atmosphere of the government picking winners and losers.
My only hope is that since he is term limited and the Dems ability to inflict serious wounds upon themselves ( think Omar, Platner, DSA , Mamdami, as infinitum) that our next president may be a Republican with a true moral compass ( e.g. Marco or less likely Tulsi) and the Dems will not win control of both houses of Congress in either 2026 or 2028. They really are a party with no consensus at all expect for their extreme lust for power.
So I remain invested, but understand the music may abruptly changes tunes, attempt to manage extreme risk control, invest in managements with good businesses and excellent long term potential good FREE cash flow , shareholder oriented and at least semi reasonable valuations 🙂🙂. My surprise is that I continue to discover new opportunities that continue to have a reasonable combination of these characteristics . So despite being 84 years old I will continue to remain invested in companies that perhaps will remain in my portfolio { or more likely my heirs) for the next 20 to 40 years as some of my most successful investments have done. I suggest to everyone who asks me that if your temperament and emotional make up allows, you should only be investing in long term value situations which will continue to accrete value during the next bear market even if it not reflected in the price. Otherwise, have a vey defensive portfolio with a lot of non equity type investments or remain very short term trader.
You are right that Trump is the better option for the country than any option on the left. But in the early 2010s, I realized there was no hope in saving our country because everyone in government is either in it to enrich themselves, do things on behalf of a foreign entity, or both. Voting was pointless. Wrote in Ron Paul instead of voting for McCain in 2008 and did not vote in 2012. Got excited with Trump in 2016. Although disappointed with his first term, reluctantly voted for him in 2020. Realized the game is rigged even more than I thought and said thats it,
America is a dying empire with a steadily declining currency, a military that is fueled up on weaponry that was great for fighting wars in the 90s for 4th generation warfare and making tons of money for the military industrial complex, and leadership that gives lip service to helping the everyday man while enriching themselves.
Cracks are forming in the bonds between people as they become poorer and the quality of life decline. People expect that service will be terrible and the quality of products will also be terrible (the shitification of everything). So Americans are becoming tribal, split based on race, politics, religion, class, sex, urban/rural, and age. Young men are becoming radicalized or withdrawn because they see very little hope in their future as their prospects for a family become bleak. Strong men with charisma will arise to unite them and that is when things go crazy. When it happens, who knows. I expect a slow grind for awhile, but people are slowly starting to fight back (Ireland and England). So find your tribe and hang on as things will get rough.