Sunday, April 19, 2020

My Cartoon on the Covid-19 Economic Situation

The economic effects of the shut-down of the world's economies have yet to be felt, but we will soon see them materialize. This cartoon may be a little early, but I believe it's an accurate portrayal of our state of mind in the coming months.

Click on the image for a larger version

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Thursday, April 16, 2020

What Does This Crisis Mean for the Economy's Future?

Recently, someone asked me three questions:
  • Who is going to pay for the government's handouts once this virus episode and economic standstill have passed?
  • What kind of price inflation might we be looking at over the coming months?
  • What should a person be doing today?
It inspired me to write an article that Seeking Alpha decided to publish. It is here.

I hope you will find it of interest.

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Thursday, April 09, 2020

Thoughts at a Crossroads

I’m becoming more and more skeptical of the human capacity to organize political society in a way that doesn’t end in catastrophe sooner or later.

Example: Both Republicans and Democrats plunged into this opportunity to lavish mirage-credit on the public. And as we know from experience: (1) corruption appears on such largesse like flies on a dungheap; and (2) mirage-credit must ultimately evaporate, taking with it all that depends upon it.

Taking this line of thinking a bit further, perhaps even towards more sardonicism:

I suspect that we humans are in a Catch-22: We don’t have enough enemies from the outside, so in order to test ourselves, societies “need” to make enemies of each other. That usually happens when (NB: not if) something disrupts supply and order, which, if violent enough, can cause shortages, anxiety, distrust, and fear for survival.

If we are to judge by known history, this ALWAYS happens. I hope we will not head down that path, at least not before I croak – that sounds selfish, and I guess it is. I've been lucky as a Baby-boomer. Maybe every generation must live through a period of strife and want, in which case mine is coming.

On a different but related subject, what is the main difference you see between the following two photos?

By Unknown author or not provided - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17057587
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8169519/Motorists-line-mile-drive-food-bank-ensure-social-distancing-coronavirus.html#i-904e9fd9bd37e5ec

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