Our political “elites,” having received their orders, have dutifully voted for more war and more debt. Now their major concern is how to continue gaslighting normal Americans, convince them that if leftist students stop protesting genocide we can all be at peace together. Or something like that. The narrative is getting more incoherent by the day.
I too think of 1990 as an inflection point. If I were making a documentary, I would use Whitney Houston's Superbowl anthem as a symbol of a high point of American optimism. In retrospect, the Soviet Union acted as a counterpoint and limit. As Jack Matlock pointed out, the fall of Soviet Union was wrongly credited by neocons to US military build-up (rather than internal Russian democracy). In any event, its fall appears to have resulted in the hubristic neocon proxy wars that have tarnished US policy ever since. Concurrently, US (and Canada) abandoned its manufacturing base and competencies. This was partly and substantially due to economic policies. But I think that an under-estimated factor was the disinterest of bright students in entering heavy industry. In prior generations, there were cadres of very bright students from farms and small towns who could rise to leadership; but in my generation, leadership of heavy industry gradually deteriorated.
Mark, did you have to mention Phil Gramm' s name? Really !!! I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I'm a Texas native these days. A lot of disgusting swamp critters came from my home country, the aforementioned Senator, "Dick" Armey, Tom DeLay, John Cornyn, Bushes of all kinds, Emperor Greg and etc. and, of course, the worst of all, LBJ .
Q: what happens when masses of people in the US stop spending money/debt, on things that are not needed and are fantasy based? Advertising already does not work as it used to…this will only grow…the US economy is largely based on things people don’t need for living and going into debt. What happens when this train grinds to a halt?
"The narrative is getting more incoherent by the day." True. Trump seems to have joined The Club. The old certainties are going. It's hard to know which way to shoot.
You forget the generous 'mystery buyers' in the Caymans... Only the G7 is buying Treasuries really (look at French and UK buying the last ten years), the global majority now looks to divest. If the only buyers are the vassals... Then when the pyramid tumbles, it will tumble bigly...
Mark,
Your favorite AG is back in the news:
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/04/raising-the-barr-2.php
I too think of 1990 as an inflection point. If I were making a documentary, I would use Whitney Houston's Superbowl anthem as a symbol of a high point of American optimism. In retrospect, the Soviet Union acted as a counterpoint and limit. As Jack Matlock pointed out, the fall of Soviet Union was wrongly credited by neocons to US military build-up (rather than internal Russian democracy). In any event, its fall appears to have resulted in the hubristic neocon proxy wars that have tarnished US policy ever since. Concurrently, US (and Canada) abandoned its manufacturing base and competencies. This was partly and substantially due to economic policies. But I think that an under-estimated factor was the disinterest of bright students in entering heavy industry. In prior generations, there were cadres of very bright students from farms and small towns who could rise to leadership; but in my generation, leadership of heavy industry gradually deteriorated.
Mark, did you have to mention Phil Gramm' s name? Really !!! I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I'm a Texas native these days. A lot of disgusting swamp critters came from my home country, the aforementioned Senator, "Dick" Armey, Tom DeLay, John Cornyn, Bushes of all kinds, Emperor Greg and etc. and, of course, the worst of all, LBJ .
I remember the day JFK was shot. The pain was palpable. I knew everyrhing had changed. That was, IMO, when we lost it.
“And I’m sure our beloved politicians will protect us from these monsters, right? “
Our “beloved politicians” are the monsters.
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2024/04/11/the-great-dispossession/
https://thegreattaking.com/
Q: what happens when masses of people in the US stop spending money/debt, on things that are not needed and are fantasy based? Advertising already does not work as it used to…this will only grow…the US economy is largely based on things people don’t need for living and going into debt. What happens when this train grinds to a halt?
"The narrative is getting more incoherent by the day." True. Trump seems to have joined The Club. The old certainties are going. It's hard to know which way to shoot.
You forget the generous 'mystery buyers' in the Caymans... Only the G7 is buying Treasuries really (look at French and UK buying the last ten years), the global majority now looks to divest. If the only buyers are the vassals... Then when the pyramid tumbles, it will tumble bigly...