Who Voted for This?

Some Democracy We Have [The Daily Reckoning] May 23, 2024 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Who Voted for This? Washington, D.C. Editor’s note: The federal government pursues destructive policies that much of the American public opposes? Why do they do it? And who is making the decisions? Today, former naval officer Byron King breaks it all down for you. [Byron King] BYRON KING Dear Reader, Things are NOT sustainable. In 2024, and far into the future, the government will spend more on net interest payments than on the Department of Defense. We’re looking at economy-wrecking spending and debt, and more than a few other, seismically deep issues on which the fate of the nation will truly hinge. All this while the U.S. southern border is wide open and literally millions of persons unknown just walk right in to set up shop on the public dime. The U.S. is on the ropes in terms of war, industry, energy and demographics. I could continue, but the takeaway is that we have a national-scale, government-financed, cultural, political, economic, military and national security meltdown out there. And who voted for this. You? Me? Nope. The Wrong Recipe for Progress As I follow the shenanigans of our country’s governing class, I’m reminded of courses I took long ago in Newport, Rhode Island, at the U.S. Naval War College. The professors of military science used to outline conflict scenarios, ranging from the Peloponnesian War to the Battle of Midway, and then ask, “What is the theory of victory here?” One point that stuck with me is that throughout history, from ancient Greece to Imperial Japan, fighting costly, distant wars and plunging the nation into unpayable debt oblivion is no recipe for progress. Closer to our current time, just consider how, between inflation, malinvestment and long-term wage stagnation, hundreds of millions of Americans have missed out on two generations of prosperity and upward mobility that citizens right after the Second World War enjoyed. A Self-Serving Class The problem in the U.S. — and in many other nations of the world (European Union, looking at you) — is that immense political power has moved into the hands of a self-serving class of ideological, mostly incompetent grifters. We have politicians, political appointees and long-term government employees who hold a world viewpoint that is, in countless instances, directly at odds with the general will and long-term interest of the people. One subset within this cabal is your so-called “deep state,” made up of government lifers who forever run the show from their shadowy offices, no matter who gets elected or selected. For example, who exactly decided to wage a proxy war against nuclear-armed Russia? Or to open up the southern U.S. border to millions of walk-ins? These are critically important national decisions. But was any of this ever on the ballot? Obviously, no. To add insult to injury, now the failed wars and policy screwups have become manifest. [WARNING: The AI Wealth Window Is About to Accelerate]( NVIDIA just announced what will be the most powerful chip of all time – “The X Chip” – a microchip so powerful that it will send the current Wealth Window into OVERDRIVE unleashing an accelerated Wealth Window like nothing we’ve seen before. But James Altucher is warning you: do NOT just invest in any AI stock… Because this announcement is creating a 100X catalyst for a specific little-known A.I. firm, already trading on the NYSE, in 2025. [Click Here To Learn How To Play This Announcement]( Where’s the Accountability? Look at the military fact that Ukraine is clearly losing to Russia, or the sociological mess on streets across American cities, which clearly are overwhelmed with impoverished migrants who just kind of showed up. Yet no architect of these political and strategic disasters has stepped up to take responsibility. And this lack of accountability is exactly how the game is played within the inner circles of American power: within politics, media, academe, business, even religion. No matter how egregious and obvious the mashup (eg., America’s Afghanistan debacle comes to mind), no one dares to correct the collective mistakes, lest that individual lose their place of favor at the feeding trough. Another way of saying it is what used to work in America — standards of morality, let alone simple reality — are thoroughly corrupted. Old-fashioned concepts like national interest and responsible use of power are subservient to current ideological fads. In America (and certainly, in many other lands), politics has become a brutal blood sport, a game of burning down the old system while looting the Treasury to pay for the matches and accelerants. Agents of Chaos All this, while many of our modern arsonists seem not to understand what they’re eliminating, let alone have any idea of what can possibly replace it all except for chaos, although perhaps that is their idea. And despite the fact that the Constitution has been around for over 235 years, we still routinely see outrageous violations of basic elements within the Bill of Rights. Can we collectively vote our way out of this? Well, I’m not saying don’t vote. But good luck to us all when the inside powers count those ballots, if you get my drift. [Trump, Biden, _______?]( There are three potential outcomes of the 2024 presidential election – and not a single one is good for the American people. In fact, the secret “third candidate” that no one’s talking about poses the biggest threat of all… [Click Here To See His Identity Revealed]( But at the end of the day, you and I are each just one person and one ballot out of many tens of millions. The outcome of the 2024 election cycle is out of our personal hands. And the results in November — and then December, January, etc. — may or may not be your cup of tea. But whatever happens this election year, life will go on for better or for worse. The goal is to create the best life possible for yourself and your family. Practical Steps We need to look for ways to find value, protect our wealth, grow the basics, secure income, de-risk as much as possible and just plain stand by. So let’s head down that path. In general, avoid debt. Pay your bills, and don’t carry a balance if you can avoid it. We’re in a world of 5% interest rates, and that’s the floor. In the past year the cost of money has risen dramatically, and many ideas that perhaps seemed good at near-zero rates may be perfectly awful now. Don’t live in a zero-rate past; that’s over. Always have a stash of cash, if for no other reason than to feel the sense of comfort that comes with money in the bank, if not under the mattress. You never know when some opportunity will knock (or maybe you just have to replace the broken windscreen in your car), and it’s nice to be able to write a check. Figure out your comfort level with gold and silver: 5–10% of your net worth, or more if it helps you sleep at night. On the investment side, look for companies that create value. For classical, money-in-the-bank, value-creating ideas, look no further than Big Oil. look for companies that currently spin cash from operations, pay dividends and hold massive, proven energy resources in the ground. Along these lines, don’t be fooled by the faddish criticisms that “oil is obsolete,” or that oil and gas are sunset industries. Because no, the world is not in any sort of energy transition away from fossil fuels — far from it. Indeed, the world now uses more oil and gas each year than the last. We live in a world of energy addition, not energy transition. Global energy demand is rising for every sort of fuel, from coal and biomass to oil, gas, uranium and, yes, solar and wind. It means that integrated oil companies will be around for many decades to come, no matter what political forces are in power. I would just advise you to prepare for some very shaky months ahead as the election gets closer and closer. It’s probably going to be a wild ride. Regards, Byron King for The Daily Reckoning [feedback@dailyreckoning.com.](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com) Editor’s note: Whenever an outside affiliate has a unique opportunity, we feel obliged to pass it along to you. Today is one such day. Right now, there's [an unusual $25 way]( to collect plenty of MONTHLY income from the oil markets. It's not a stock, bond or anything you've likely heard about. But it's by far our affiliate’s #1 investment opportunity for 2024. What is it? [Find out more right here.]( Thank you for reading The Daily Reckoning! We greatly value your questions and comments. Please send all feedback to [feedback@dailyreckoning.com.](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com) [Byron King] [Byron King]( is a Harvard-trained geologist who has traveled to every U.S. state and territory and six of the seven continents. He has been interviewed by dozens of major print and broadcast media outlets including The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, MSN Money, MarketWatch, Fox Business News, and PBS Newshour. [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2024 Paradigm Press, LLC. 1001 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. 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