‘Our economy is the greatest it has ever been.’
—Donald Trump, January 20, 2020
‘Bloomberg Economics sees global growth slowing to 1.5% year on year.’
—Bloomberg, February 9, 2020
‘There is no systemic risk. No one is even talking about that.’
—Goldman Sachs conference call, mid-March, reported by Marc Faber
The initial jobless claims are the worst-ever recorded in America.
Bloomberg: U.S. Jobless Claims Soar to Once-Unthinkable Record 6.6 Million
The figure topped all analyst estimates and compared with a median projection of 3.76 million.
Putting that 6.6 million in perspective…this is 10 times the previous all-time high, set back in 1982. And putting that in perspective is this from Alex Danco:
This is closer to real Black Swan stuff. This week’s unemployment filings, compared to the last half-century, are considered by frequentist statistics as a 30-sigma event: less likely to happen than if you had to select one atomic particle at random out of every particle in the universe, and then randomly again select that same particle five times in a row.
A 30-sigma event should be outrageously unlikely, at universe-scale. But they happen. And when they do, they warn us: the problem is not that the universe didn’t behave correctly. The problem is that we were wrong.
We watched the tape. The U.S. economy is in freefall. Stock market dip-buyers should be running scared.
But wait…No! Bad news is good news…up is down…dumb is smart. They bid up the Dow more than 400 points.
Big & bold government spending scheme
Go figure. The worst economic news ever received…and the stock market goes up? Have investors completely lost their minds?
Well…yes…and no.
The other big news was that the federales are on the move. Far from letting the crisis go to waste, they are making it far, far worse. The deadly coronavirus molecule has little to do with it.
Hardly had Donald Trump passed out the pens – souvenirs of one the most reckless, foolhardy, and downright asinine pieces legislation of all time…
…a $2.2 trillion boondoggle designed to get Democrats and Republicans re-elected…
…then the numbskulls came out with yet another $2 trillion scheme. Nancy Pelosi was on the case. RealClearPolitics reports:
House Democrats want to enact a massive infrastructure package upgrading the nation’s broadband, road and water systems, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday, in the next installment of Congress’ effort to help the country weather the destructive blows inflicted by the coronavirus outbreak.
Feds in charge?
Donald Trump was right there with her:
With interest rates for the United States being at ZERO, this is the time to do our decades long awaited Infrastructure Bill. It should be VERY BIG & BOLD, Two Trillion Dollars, and be focused solely on jobs and rebuilding the once great infrastructure of our Country! Phase 4.
Yes, Democrats and Republicans have gotten together…Trump and Pelosi…the fools and the knaves…and they’ve agreed to put an end to the way America does business.
No more give and take…no more win-win…or getting and spending. No more honest prices. No more free markets.
Now, the feds are in charge. The government will soon be spending over half of GDP. And they’ll destroy the rest in good time.
How? The old-fashioned way…a stark-naked, third world-ish, sh*thole country, money-printing lollapalooza.
The government has decided we’re all socialists now
Yes, Dear Reader…
The MMT-ers…the big spenders…the dreamers and schemers…the Hillarys, the Sanders, the Big Government lovers…all the jackasses in the D.C. metropolitan area – lobbyists, cronies, policy wonks.
They all have their pulses revved up, their mouths slobbering…and their illusions in Full Retard mode…because…
…We’re all socialists now!
‘What with the war an’ all…y’know? You know…that virus thing…’
Did an Uber driver miss a car payment? The feds will make it for him.
Does Boeing need a little cash to tide it over during this rough patch? C’mon over.
Is a city in trouble since it failed to lay aside enough money to pay its pensions? No problem; the feds will set up a fund.
Every heart will beat with hope and hallucination. Every soul will soar on free-money fantasies. And even hard-boiled cynics are bluffed and bullied in the panic.
It’s all fake money, of course. What else do the feds have?
But fake money is good enough for investors. They calculate, perhaps correctly, that a lot of it will end up in the stock market.
Dow 50,000! A cup of coffee $25!
More to come…
Regards,
Bill Bonner
Since founding Agora Inc. in 1979, Bill Bonner has found success and garnered camaraderie in numerous communities and industries. A man of many talents, his entrepreneurial savvy, unique writings, philanthropic undertakings, and preservationist activities have all been recognized and awarded by some of America’s most respected authorities. Along with Addison Wiggin, his friend and colleague, Bill has written two New York Times best-selling books, Financial Reckoning Day and Empire of Debt. Both works have been critically acclaimed internationally. With political journalist Lila Rajiva, he wrote his third New York Times best-selling book, Mobs, Messiahs and Markets, which offers concrete advice on how to avoid the public spectacle of modern finance.