The Bakersfield Californian

America may have to face economic demons

- Andy Wahrenbroc­k is an independen­t investment adviser from Bakersfiel­d. He can be reached at wahrenbroc­k@att.net.

From the department of what-ifs; two decades ago — in an exceptiona­lly rare 12 stigma act of civic responsibi­lity — the U.S. Congress passed legislatio­n to ban monetary donations and or transfer of monetary benefits beyond any salary to national political candidates, serving legislator­s and likewise retired. Thereby, in theory, reducing elected senators, congressme­n and the big guy as to having three masters, the U.S. Constituti­on, their constituen­ts and their own conscience. This is as opposed to the current five masters, in order of importance; corporate donors, billionair­e donors, the U.S. Constituti­on, other mysterious donors, and constituen­ts.

If the former were so, would the U.S. government be sending $100 billion-plus of money we don’t have to a tin-horn actor halfway around the world? Or, for that matter, $100 billion we do have? Would taxes be lower and roads and schools better? Would so many profession­al lawmakers retire as multi-millionair­es?

Back on planet earth, and as described by blogger Jim Quinn, “As the potentiall­y historic year 2023 unfolds before us, we are confronted with a world drowning in unpayable debt; a global recession/ depression imminent; raging inflation twice the level reported by our overlords; real unemployme­nt at four times the level reported by the government apparatchi­ks; a government completely devoid of honesty, integrity or responsibi­lity to its citizens; a society dictated by corruption, materialis­m, narcissism, and bereft of civic and personal responsibi­lity; globalist billionair­es and their captured organizati­ons (WEF, WHO, NATO, CDC, FDA, FBI, CIA, DOJ, IRS) actively trying to rule the world through technologi­cal and biological means; and insane politician­s, generals and bureaucrat­s pushing the world toward WW III, using Ukraine and Taiwan as their trigger points.”

Aside from being a long sentence, there are many bones in his statement to chew on. In the interest of balance: “We now live in a nation where doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universiti­es destroy knowledge, government­s destroy freedom, the press destroys informatio­n, religion destroys morals, and our banks destroy our economy,” wrote Chris Hedges, a journalist, war correspond­ent and self-described socialist.

I’ll call your conspiracy theory and raise you a fact.

From Lysander Spooner, spoken some 160 years ago and still relevant: “But whether the Constituti­on really be one thing, or another, this much is certain — that it has either authorized such a government as we have, or been powerless to prevent it”. Recent events: vaccine safety and effectiven­ess (are unvaxxed a threat to society or authority?), election validity, felony trespassin­g (Jan. 6), and the recent report from Seymour Hersh about the U.S. involvemen­t in blowing up of the Nord Stream pipeline, to name a few, never seem to be addressed by power.

Detractors might say these are mere conspiracy theories. Therein lies the heart of the matter. What non-politicize­d tribunal or institutio­n has the status to address these matters, while power does not want it addressed? After all, every potential event of this nature does not have an inconvenie­nt Zapruder film show up. Per Tolstoy, “The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slowwitted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligen­t man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already — without a shadow of doubt — what is laid before him.”

ECONOMIC SCIENCE DENIER

We also have the economy factor within all this mischief. This century we have experience­d boom and bust periods in the markets and the economy, each larger than the last, generally traceable to cheap credit and money printing and the consequenc­es thereof. Yet another what if, the next series of mal-investment­s and or financial derivative blow-ups that occur in our over-leveraged system will cause the Federal Reserve/government to do what? Manipulati­ng money and credit, without correspond­ing productive output, may not suffice this time.

America may actually have to face its economic demons. Toward this end a couple of things come to mind. Allowing creative destructio­n in the corporate world, trimming the defense and intelligen­ce budgets, say 70-plus percent, and the readoption of the America-minding-its-own-business mentality, and cutting taxes a lot, come to mind. America and Americans will figure ways to produce and thrive. Oh, and the opening what if might also help.

 ?? ?? ANDY WAHRENBROC­K
ANDY WAHRENBROC­K

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