What’s the limit of caring?

In our super-interconnected news driven world, there is always a catastrophe, a natural disaster or refugee producing war or economic crisis…. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ February 8, 2023  |  [View Online]( |  [Sign Up]( What's the limit of caring? “Distraction is the only thing that consoles us for our miseries, and yet it is itself the greatest of our miseries.” ⏤ Blaise Pascal Dear , “How much can we be concerned before burning out?” writes Anya Leonard, director at Classical Wisdom. You may recall, we’ve had Anya on the Wiggin Sessions several times. Ms. Leonard was talking about the earthquake and aftershocks devastating Turkey and Syria. “I was upset that no one seemed to be talking about it.” Anya continues: Each time I’d check online another couple of hundred would be added to the death toll, but my social media feed instead blabbed on about the Grammys, the latest Reddit AITA stream or popular TED Talk and other completely inconsequential nonsense. How could people talk about dresses and backdrops when thousands were dead and more dying? Was everyone else just callous? Or was I being over sensitive? The issue, of course, is that in our super-interconnected news driven world, there is always a catastrophe, a natural disaster or refugee producing war or economic crisis….on top of the usual ‘noise’ we are fed on the news and via social media, it can be hard to be concerned about everything. So why care about this one? To put a financial twist on this idea: Biden’s State of the Union address – and the FOMC press tour – dominating the financial media today are as much of a distraction as the Super Bowl commercials already airing across broadcast media and streaming online…before the Super Bowl. Watching Biden and Powell prattle on about their “achievements” conveys about as much useful information as the nutrition panel on a brick of cocaine. Neither speech conveyed anything useful. Certainly nothing you can use to better your own lot. And yet, for a while afterwards, you feel great! POWERED BY BRENTWOOD RESEARCH The Seven Simple Laws of Inflation, a guide Adam Baratta’s new book Seven Simple Laws Of Inflation looks into how and why he thinks inflation is the #1 issue plaguing the global economy. More than climate change. Adding fueling to the fire of politics. He set up a Wiggin Sessions special offer. You can find your copy [here](. CONTINUED... Not that there wasn’t a fair amount of political theater and entertainment. Marjorie Taylor Greene took home the best actor award. She booed and hissed and screamed at the president wearing a mink-lined leather coat… indoors. Where were the commentators from Paris Fashion Week to tell us which designer she was wearing? “Liar!” Georgia Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) yells at Biden. (Source: WSJ) Jerome Powell, later, sounded like he was auditioning for a role as the sympathetic character in a Hallmark drama. “What is the salary of the Chairman of the Federal Reserve?” Bloomberg Television’s David Rubenstein asked him on stage. “It’s about $190,000 a year,” Powell responded with a smirk. “And you think that’s a fair salary for the job?”  A pause. “I do,” replied Powell. The crowd shared a chuckle only insiders could muster. “The labor market is strong because the economy is strong,” Powell continued in conversation with Rubenstein. No one in the room, not least of all Rubenstein himself, challenged the Fed chair’s operating theory, his narrative of “disinflation” and a “soft landing” for the economy. The press tour seems to be working. When asked whether he would change policy decisions based on reactionary markets, he deflected. Powell: We are the fiscal agent of the treasury department. We do not determine policy. No one should think the Fed has the ability to shield the markets and the economy from the consequences of moving too slow. A “barrage of Fed speakers” including John Williams, Lisa Cook, Raphael Bostic and Neel Kashkari will join the fray and talk up their policies today. The real tragedy: The average American family is buckling under, whether the data says so or not. Owing in large part to rapidly rising interest rates “over half of Americans making over $100K living paycheck to paycheck” reads a CBS News report. Ah well, returning to Anya’s original question: “What’s the limit of caring?” In the short-term, yesterday’s tele-novellas were merely “visions on the wall,” as Plato described in The Allegory of the Cave. The market, succumbing to the hype of its own momentum, continues to climb that wall of worry. So it goes, Addison Wiggin The Wiggin Sessions P.S. There's plenty of analysis of yesterday's State of the Union out there. We recommend this from Bill Bonner: [State of Disunion.]( Rather than add to the cacophony available from all sources of media – mainstream cheerleaders, alternative naysayers, and social critics – we shared the following “Daily Nugget” within The Essential Investor’s investment forum this morning. ***(IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are a new Charter Member of The Essential Investor and haven’t begun receiving your recommendations yet… or built your profile… or started engaging in the community, check your inbox for the email with instructions on how to get set up. Keep in mind, the email may have gotten directed into your “promotions” folder. The subject line reads: “Re: Setting Up Your Essential Investor Account”). Onward. It's a common perception among investors that the stock market does better under Republican administrations than Democratic ones. But in a comparison compiled by Bloomberg, that perception didn't prove out between the Trump and Biden administrations: Biden's Stock Market The S&P 500 gained 24.1% between Election Day in November 2020 and Feb. 2, 2023 Trump's Stock Market The S&P 500 gained 26.5% between Election Day in November 2016 and Feb. 2, 2019 "And if you believe that valuations are a sign of confidence, then with a price-earnings ratio of 19.8, investors are more confident in America’s companies than they were at the same point in Trump’s administration, when they assigned a P/E ratio of 18," according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Are you surprised by these numbers? We were. “Would this have been different if there had been no COVID?” asked new Charter Member Alexander G. in The Essential Investor forum. To which we responded, "Maybe a better question is: 'Would Biden have gotten elected if there had been no COVID? Historically, incumbent presidents have won a second term if the economy and stock market are making people feel good about themselves.'” P.P.S. *** NEW Charter Members of The Essential Investor – be sure to build your profile and join the conversation, today. If you haven’t started receiving your picks let us know in the community. 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