It's My Birthday, So You Better Read This

Hey, today's my birthday, so I might go off the rails a bit here.

One of the biggest problems in the world today is that of political and economic leadership failing to acknowledge their own failures.

Manifested in various schemes and sub-routines, like sending a real estate developer and your son-in-law to negotiate peace with Russia over Ukraine, or claiming covid vaccines are safe and effective while people collapse right after receiving the "jab", the willful blindness of people in leadership positions is stunning.

One activity that constantly comes into perspective is the decades-long suppression of gold and silver by minions in the COMEX-LBMA-ESF cartel. These delusional folks actually believe they are doing some good with their naked shorts, spoofing, and assorted market manipulations by sending the price of silver a buck or two lower, or holding the price of gold right at some pre-determined level, satisfying their need for control and influence.

All they're actually doing is delaying the inevitable collapse of fiat currencies and the return of honest money devoid of counter-party risk.

Europeans are particularly adept at self-deception and delusion. Many heads of state within the EU - at least the important ones, France and Germany - must have to wake up every morning and convince themselves that Russia is about to invade Europe and that Ukraine is effectively holding them back. Macron in France and Merz in Germany are primary exemplars of delusional behavior. The U.S. has developed its own brand of pseudo-realism, thanks in part to the fall of journalistic standards, large swaths of heavily-controlled and coerced populations, and just plain stupidity.

It began with Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, in a manner that was equally hilarious and disturbing at the same time. Biden's famous wide-eyes whispered threats and Pelosi's aimless ranting became standard fare to feed to the masses. Mostly, their incoherent ramblings were shucked off as just drivel, but they kept at it until it worked on the whole psyche of America. Russia was evil. Trump was a criminal. Climate change. The green new deal. Open borders. All good on the suface while America was rotting at its core.

Then along came Trump 2.0 who promised to release the Epstein files and bring the pedophiles and human traffickers to justice, to end the Ukraine conflict in 24 hours, to deport 20, no 40 million illegals, to bring down grocery prices, to stop the endless wars and declare peace, and, boldly Make America Great Again (MAGA). Now, after being duly elected and in office for almost a year, Mr. Trump, presumably the most braggadocios president ever to grace the Oval Office with his magnificent presence, has, in his mind, ended 8, 9, or 12 wars, raised "trillions" in tariffs, and made deals with every country on the planet, each one favorable to U.S. interests.

Meanwhile, right before the president's eyes, we're bombing fishing boats in the Caribbean, running what looks like a $2 trillion deficit for fiscal 2026, sending more money and arms to Ukraine, and the American dream has become unattainable to all but maybe the top 10% of earners in the United States, and even some of them are struggling to make ends meet.

Trump has redefined the limits of self-delusion. He may be outdone only by the EU's Ursula von der Leyen, but probably not. Credit is due for the president shutting down the border crossings, fighting against all the LGBTQ+ ideology, and a good number of other efforts, but, walking back from DOGE was an epic fail. Ukraine is also a loser. The economy stinks for most people, but the president keeps telling us the stock market is at all-time highs, as if that makes the people who own stocks marginally or not at all happy.

Trump's tariffs are bringing in extra revenue, setting a record for October, at $31.4 billion. But, thanks to Trump and the congress, the Big Beautiful Bill passed back in July has so far produced a $284 billion deficit and that's when the government was supposedly shut down. And, that's just the first month of the fiscal year. Can't wait to see how this all goes once Trump has his own guy or gal in at the Fed and pushes him or her to cut the federal funds rate to two percent, or one, or lower. $7 bananas and $85,000 cars aren't exactly what one might classify as "great."

Tariff revenue barely makes a dent in the $7 trillion the government plans to spend. It might come close to paying some of the interest on the ever-expanding debt, but at what cost? A middle class that can't afford a mortgage, a new car or dinner at a restaurant? Foreign nations aren't buying U.S. debt anymore, or, at least not as much as they used to. Seriously, the U.S. government issues far too much debt and then they overspend anyway, so what's the point? Maybe Trump can boast about how much money the U.S. tariffs are brining in, but how does that help regular folks? More SNAP, Section 8 housing, and $2,000 stimulus checks? No thank you.

Just about everybody in Washington is either delusional, crooked, or both.

Trump's Wall Street buddies are happy.

I suppose stockholders are happy.

But, those people at the supermarkets, they don't look very happy.

So, we're still awaiting Trump's promised "golden age" while many of the MAGA supporters have left the club, this writer included. It appears that in Trump's America, Wall Street does fine, billionaires buy more yatchs and condos, but for the regular Joes and Janes, meh. Just, meh. We just don't get it.

I may have strayed a bit from what I originally intended to say, but my bottom line is this: when you get upset that the crooks in the COMEX sent the price of silver down another buck-and-a-half overnight (when you know it should be going up), or when you gasp at two strip steaks for $34, or experience some other lunacy that is the product of the age of delusion, it's OK to blurt out, "God, I really hate these people!”

Really, it is. God may or may not be listening, but somebody within earshot might be, and you might hear, "Yeah, me too."

Happy Birthday to ME.

-- Fearless Rick

At The Close, Wednesday, December 3, 2025:
Dow: 47,882.90, +408.44 (+0.86%)
NASDAQ: 23,454.09, +40.42 (+0.17%)
S&P 500: 6,849.72, +20.35 (+0.30%)
NYSE Composite: 21,805.41, +154.92 (+0.72%)