It is almost impossible these days to sit down and write anything that could make sense of our current situation. As I see it, this is end of an era of American dominance and the only people who are failing to see it is our own population.

I can’t really blame the masses for missing what is going on since most people are working their tails off to get by and get most of their information (or more accurately propaganda) from headlines, sound bites, and supposed NEWS that always seems to have a bias one way or the other.

When my wife watches Fox (pick any station- it is the same stories presented in diverse ways) I cannot help but notice that it is all about politics. This gives the grave ILLUSION that politics can somehow fix our problems. How is that working out?

The fact of the matter is that The USA is only a shell of its former self. Ronald Reagan once said that if America were to cease being good America would cease being great. I believe he was talking about the traits that made this nation great like family, faith, diligent work ethic and working for the common good of all.

As an older fellow I remember the days when it was an embarrassment to accept a handout. My own personal experience was in high school I had a card for lunch because we were not rich- to say the least. There were many days I skipped lunch rather than admit that I needed that help. Today, many wear their dependency as a badge of honor and openly flaunt their “beating the system” on social media.

As I am getting ready to pay Uncle Sam more than I used to make not long ago I now have to wonder not what good these taxes might do but am I paying for missiles, bombs, and being a part of an operation that is using brute force to confiscate other’s assets? I guess those “in charge” have no idea about hard work and producing our own goods. What if the money we spent on war was spent developing OUR OWN resources rather than bombing others or kidnapping leaders of foreign governments to steal THEIR resources? Oh yeah- the bomb and weapons manufacturers that do a LOT of lobbying would not have anywhere near the revenues they currently have.

America has ceased to be a beacon of hope and now is feared and hated across the globe.

I believe that we are in for a MAJOR reduction in our lifestyles which we are seeing MAJOR signs of right now but, it appears to me that the worst is yet to come.

The many reasons that I see FAR higher inflation ahead are:

· War. War costs money. The USA has no piggy bank. The Fed will be funding this war with many hundreds of billions if not trillions of dollars conjured up from nowhere with nothing produced. Keep in mind that inflation is the EFFECT of the “printing” The cause is the liquidation of the dollar’s purchasing power. TREMENDOUSLY INFLATIONARY

· Budget Deficits and Interest Expenses. Our budget deficits are obscene at nearly $2 TRILLION even as the cost of wars, Social Security payments, Medicare, VA benefits, etc. are not even included as they are “off the books”. We can only guess the actual deficit. The $39 TRIILION plus that they admit to is already costing over $1 TRILLION in interest payments per year. This leads me to believe that the Fed will be buying TRILLIONS and possibly TENS OF TRILLIONS in bonds to keep rates from moving higher. Keep in mind the Fed can only reduce the overnight rate by saying it. All other rate manipulations have to be done by BUYING the bonds. This means that even more dollars need to be conjured up out of nowhere to accomplish this. It is even more acute since prior BUYERS of our bonds have become SELLERS making the fed’s task that much harder. Again, MASSIVELY INFLATIONARY

· Massive layoffs and a cratering economy. This will mean less taxes being collected and more stress on an already overwhelmed social system. Again, with no savings to pay for this extra stress it will likely lead to more “printing” or massive social disorder. That could go either way in my opinion-it may even that for which those “in charge” are hoping. Time will tell.

· War Again. This war is causing massive disruptions in oil, petrochemicals, fertilizers and because of this we are likely to see even more upward pressure on prices as goods become scarcer and a whole lot more currency is chasing those goods. It was reported today that Europe is starting to ration oil and energy. MASSIVELY INFLATIONARY.

· The Price of GOLD. For the longest time gold was used as a benchmark to see how well fiat currencies were holding their purchasing power. This is likely one of the main reasons why those “in charge” manipulate the price lower so anyone looking thinks the dollar (or Euro, Yen, etc.) is not bleeding purchasing power. Even with MASSIVE manipulation which shows up on the charts EVERY DAY, the price of gold has gone from $2000.00 In January 2024 to $4800.00 as I write this on April 9, 2026. While it is NEVER mentioned on the financial game shows this is a MASSIVE RED FLAG that the dollar (and all other backed by nothing currencies) are hemorrhaging purchasing power and even manipulation cannot hide it anymore.

I hear many on financial game shows saying that gold is not living up to it’s safe-haven status. Of course, what would you expect when they sell stocks, ETFs and mutual funds that need constant flow? If they had any knowledge of history, they could look back and realize that the major gains in gold take place after most people start to realize the effect of the upheaval- in this case the war.

Gold rises when there is rampant money creation, lack of confidence in the economy and government, social instability, geopolitical instability, and war. For those who expect that just because the price has not blasted off yet that it will not- tell me which of the catalysts for a FAR higher price in my opinion are not in play RIGHT NOW.

Do your own research and do not rely on the financial game shows that keep you neatly tucked away in the 60/40 box. Time has long passed that by.

Be Prepared!

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