The Roman Empire perhaps reached its zenith under Marcus Aurelius in the 2nd century AD, but then the plague came.
Egomania
I think all the presidents have been egomaniacs to some degree — Trump is perhaps a little more conspicuous than the others…the boastfulness, the strong opinions about everything and anything. But Obama too was something of an egomaniac…he was known for lecturing people like a professor in a quiet but very condescending way, i.e., he knew better than you or anyone else. Egomania is a kind of qualification for the job.
Therefore, it is best to judge presidents not on their personalities, which, like most of us, can be pretty strange, but solely on their actions.
Layoffs and Savings
40% of Americans have less than $400 in savings. And we are now having gigantic layoffs. How are these people going to survive, how are they going to pay for the necessities? One pundit pointed all this out, and warned about riots in the streets over food. Farfetched? Not so sure.
Break With China
Not only should we blame China for this virus (second time around with them, which shows criminal negligence), but we should BREAK with China, a communist country with concentration camps.
Question
What do you really know and how do you know it?
Bale Out Nation
The negative side to all the various bale outs by the Federal Reserve and the government: more crony capitalism where weak companies that should fail and just disappear are kept alive. Why there has been such poor growth in the last 10 years — all these zombie companies that are unproductive. Bale out nation — that’s how you undermine capitalism. Assets are spent on unproductive companies.
Federal Reserve Takes Action
Pretty blatant market control by the Federal Reserve. Will be interesting to see if their market manipulation works and prevents a collapse. Their 2.3 trillion this morning reversed the futures from negative to strong positive. 2787 is a 50% retracement from the lows. If it gets as far as 2850, the bullish case takes over. Otherwise, it’s a bear trap. If it starts to fall again, the next leg down is going to be truly terrible, as this rally is all based on funny money from the Federal Reserve — it worked in 2008/9, will it work again? Earnings start on Tuesday with JPM. Not surprising the Fed sprang another 2.3 trillion this morning as unemployment went up another 6.6 million people in just a week. It’s really no long about coronavirus, as the plateaus are in for the virus — it’s about the economic devastation that it will bring now and for the next 5 months minimum. The unemployment rate may get to 20%. That’s what the Fed is reacting to.
Economic Recovery?
Will the Federal Reserve and the Treasury just paper over this financial crisis with tons of dollars like they did in 2008 so there is no collapse or will the collapse happen anyway? That’s the question.
A Retiree and the Virus
Trying to limit my trips to the supermarket to one trip per week to reduce exposure. As a retiree, it’s my only contact with people, so it’s my one serious risk. When the pandemic gets much worse, I may not go at all.
I’ve ordered masks online but after I ordered them found out they are made in China. Dang. China not known for quality control, to say the least. Would be pretty ironic to catch the virus from one of these masks from China. Not sure if I’m going to use them or not. I may just let them sit for a week or so to make sure they aren’t contaminated.
Strange virus if you think about it. So many who are infected are asymptomatic but then the virus is also a killer — go figure. The obvious question is why are some people asymptomatic? Must have something to do with the strength of their immune system, I would guess. But what exactly? Is anyone asking that question?
Penalty for Coronavirus?
A senator suggested that China nullify its 1.1 trillion in treasury holdings as repayment for the cost of their virus to the US. We should just stop payment of their interest. You could forgive the first time this happened with SARS, but a second time means willful negligence on their part imo.
Henry's Views 