It Doesn't Matter What You Think, Reality Is What It Is

It doesn't matter what you think, the reality we face is what we are seeing here on the ground. Reality is what it is and our government will as usual muddle through with poorly thought out politically correct solutions geared to kick the can down the road. This brings me little delight. I have gone a bit quiet lately because of how events are slowly unfolding, the keyword, in this case, is slowly. Rather than a wave washing over us we are experiencing a troubling drip after drip of bad news which a majority of the population has now come to accept as normal. You can put lipstick on a pig but no matter what you tell yourself, it is still a pig.

Holy Shit! This ain't good

In some ways what is happening to people across the world could be compared to what occurred when the white-man came to America. The Indians slowly traded their freedom for baubles and what they did not trade away was slowly taken by force. In this analogy, technology is the shiny promise unto which we sadly surrender our future. Beware, those that claim the promise technology is the key to a better future are not quick to share its rewards. They prefer to turn us into mindless slaves and government is a tool they employ in their efforts.

Exploding debt and a slow recovery following the 2008 financial crisis. Many of us claimed it really was not a true recovery but rather a debt-fueled false economy. All this continued with the aid of a few major distractions which took our eyes off the ball. Then the corona-virus hit. Looking back, the first diversion was the emergence of ISIS and the wave of refugees that destabilized Europe and the second was the trade war with China. This was another matter that was not resolved but ended in a small initial agreement that remains unfulfilled and the promise of a solution at some point in the future. This issue and all of the above should leave us unimpressed.

Recently we have been hearing more rumbling of growing conflict with China. It is difficult to argue such a possibility does not exist. This brings front and center the issue of throwing back the curtain and taking a harsh look at reality. Wake up, smell the coffee, and cast off the rose-colored glasses. when you do what you see before you is not pretty.  

So, where do we stand?

• Today we are facing massive unemployment / retailers are closing
• Local stores, the taxes they pay, and communities don't matter just buy online 
• Many small businesses will never reopen following the Covic-19 shutdown
• Travel and many large industries are in crisis
• Governments across the planet, including here in America, now lock people in their homes
• Interest rates have fallen to where people take on huge risk in search of yield  
• A majority of Americans now believe the National Debt does not matter / MMT is accepted 
• As long as the government will pay people not to work everything will be ok
• While some jobs may move back towards our shores we still remain noncompetitive
• Mega-companies continue to grow in power and dictate government policy 
• If not for Central Bank shenanigans defaults would be the flavor of the day
• Pushed ever upward by the Powers That Be the stock market has divorced from Main Street 

When all is said and done, the promise of free overnight shipping, an endless barrage of mind-numbing "entertainment" coupled with having an iPhone in your hand are poor substitutes for freedom. It is difficult to deny the lobbing power of huge technology companies such as Amazon and Apple that exploit America. This type of company often pays no taxes but sells billions of dollars worth of foreign-made goods and services to our government. Even the United States Postal Service has joined in the effort to destroy small local businesses by making deals to deliver goods at below their cost and on weekends. Add to this state and local governments that burden brick and mortar businesses with taxes and fees it is no wonder things are in such a sorry state.

I should not be the only person feeling uneasy about several of these trends. I fear, over time, they will lead to an outcome that will prove very unpleasing to a majority of Americans. This is not to spread fear but to question the sustainability of such policies and what they will do to our culture. The effect is already showing up in subtle ways. With each day people are altering their expectations of the future. The options we had are rapidly vanishing and we as individuals are losing the ability to create or even shape our destiny. Most troubling is society's general acceptance of this. This does not bode well for our children.