What will it say in the Wikipedia of 3000 AD? What will be the Judgment of History? We shudder to think…
Will it mention its geriatric politicians…that they were actively trying to stir up conflict with their neighbours, trading partners, and rivals?
What will it make of its greatest economists and leading financial brains…pretending that people can be made richer by falsifying interest rates…lending money below the level of consumer price inflation…and ‘printing money’ to cover budget deficits?
And what about the character of its citizens…who let themselves get ripped off…lied to…and held in contempt by their own elected leaders?
We can only guess…
Making America broke again
But first, we note that another lollapalooza of boondoggles is about to smash into the US economy. NBC News: ‘Senate passes sweeping climate, health and tax package, putting Democrats on cusp of historic win’:
‘Senate Democrats narrowly passed a sweeping climate and economic package on Sunday, putting President Joe Biden and his party on the cusp of a big legislative victory just three months before the crucial November midterm elections.
‘After a marathon overnight Senate session, the 51-50 vote was strictly along party lines, with all Republicans voting no and all Democrats voting yes. After Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote, Democrats stood and applauded.’
What has been won? NBC explains:
‘The 755-page bill includes $430 billion to combat climate change and extend health care coverage, paid for with savings on prescription drugs and taxes on corporations. It puts hundreds of billions of dollars toward deficit reduction.’
(We presume Nancy Pelosi’s husband papered up well in advance!)
The legislation is cynical and scammy, both in purpose and application. Will it result in better weather? It seems very unlikely. Will it reduce deficits? Almost certainly not. Will it lower inflation? Not a chance.
As is common for boondoggles of this sort, the spending is front-loaded — so the insiders get their money right away. As for the deficit and inflation reduction, they’re barely loaded on the truck at all…and will never actually be delivered.
Congressional free passes
And the real-world results? It depends on the assumptions you make about the future. Here’s how the Tax Foundation scored it:
‘Last-week’s Democrat-sponsored Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), successor to the House-passed Build Back Better Act of late 2021, has been touted by President Biden to, among other things, help reduce the country’s crippling inflation. Using the Tax Foundation’s General Equilibrium Model, we estimate that the Inflation Reduction Act would reduce long-run economic output by about 0.1 percent and eliminate about 30,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the United States. It would also reduce average after-tax incomes for taxpayers across every income quintile over the long run.
‘By reducing long-run economic growth, this bill may actually worsen inflation by constraining the productive capacity of the economy.’
But ‘climate change’ is a free pass into the public’s bank accounts. It is promoted by the press as much as the ‘War on Terror’ or ‘the attempted coup d’etat of 6 January’ or the ‘brutal Russian invasion of the peace-loving Ukraine’. Practically every weather report blames ‘climate change’ — for excess heat…floods…drought…cold — everything. Logically, since the Earth is a closed system, for every horror caused by ‘climate change’ there should be a delight elsewhere — rain in a dry area…warmth where it’s normally cold…sunshine where clouds generally dominate. But no one mentions it.
Instead, for the first time in history, politicians can say that they’re not only complaining about the weather; now they are doing something about it.
Another great crusade, in other words. Free the Holy Land. Drang nach Osten. Whip Inflation Now! And not coincidentally, make the elite richer and more powerful.
Wikipedia 3000
But what will they think of it later? Not just a few years later…but 1,000 years into the future. Will they see it in the same light? Will they get the names, right? Who will be the heroes then? Herewith, a guess:
‘In the year 2022, which is to say, during the lifetime of the great economic philosopher Bill Bonner, the US’s decline was no longer a subject of speculation; it was undeniable. Aggressive meddling — brought forth from a mixture of conceit and incompetence — had brought the country to the threshold of ruin. Its citizens shot each other in US cities, while its army attempted to maintain the empire’s dominant position to the rest of the world. Most of its people got poorer, with wages rising at only half the rate of consumer prices, while it transferred billions of dollars to the richest families in the country.
‘The US economy — once the world’s most dynamic — had been fettered by boondoggles and weakened by central bank management. And its attempts to rule the entire world…by murdering foreign leaders, sanctions, and active warfare…had driven its rivals together to oppose it.
‘The next chapter was foreseeable by all but the American leadership itself.’
Tune in tomorrow for more from the Wikipedia of the Year 3000.
Regards,
 |
Bill Bonner,
For The Daily Reckoning Australia
