Just a game

[Bill Bonner’s Diary]( Just a Game By Bill Bonner Monday, October 4, 2021 [Bill Bonner] BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – This weekend, we hosted a wedding for our daughter. What a production! Your editor gave the customary “Father of the Bride” speech. Here’s a photo of the set-up. [image]The ceremony set-up You’re probably eager to hear the details. But that will have to wait… Recommended Link [Your Most Important Financial Decision of this Decade…]( [image]( A terrifying new trend that The Wall Street Journal called “inevitable” is forcing every American to make a crucial decision right now… one that could seal the fate of their financial future for this decade. Here’s one simple move you could make to end up on the winning side of this. [Click here to learn more.]( -- Money Doesn’t Guarantee Victory Today, we’re following up from [Friday](. We were looking at war… and armies… and how they become corrupt and incompetent. And we follow up by looking back to the ancient world. The Achaemenid Empire of Persia was the world’s hegemon – the USA of the 4th century B.C. Imagine what it must have been like for the handful of soldiers at Thermopylae. They had been sent to defend the pass into Greece. They looked out and saw thousands of gleaming helmets… swords… bright-colored tunics… and wicker shields. Ancient Greek historian Herodotus puts the number of Persians assembled by Xerxes, King of the Achaemenid Empire, at 2.5 million. The real number was surely much, much lower. Still, the Greeks were outnumbered by at least 20 to 1… including by the legendary Persian “immortals” (roughly equivalent to America’s Delta Force). The Greeks were wiped out at Thermopylae… but they won the war. The naval Battle of Salamis destroyed the Persian fleet. Then, fearing having his vast forces cut off, Xerxes retreated. Almost all of his soldiers died from starvation and disease as they struggled to get back across the Hellespont. Money does not guarantee victory in war… or in anything else. Often, it gets in the way. And of all the parasitic, degenerate, incompetent elite groups of the U.S. empire, the military/industrial complex is the biggest… and the most adept at separating the public from its money. Despite spending many times more than any enemy – real or imagined – the Pentagon has a record of failure at least equal to the [feds’ other major boondoggles](. The War on Poverty… the War on Drugs… or the War on COVID-19 – none can match the military, neither in squandering money… nor in pernicious consequences. [Featured: Are you ready for Congress’ “Wealth Transfer Act”?]( Fiasco War Wait… You may think… “Ok, it’s such a big organization; it’s inevitable that some money will be badly spent. But it’s better to spend too much on defense than too little.” That’s not the way it works. You get what you pay for. Pay top dollar for a military; you get an army that’s good at getting paid. But soldiers are best when they are lean… not when they are fat. And the officers are best when they are promoted and rewarded for winning wars, not for losing them. The 20-year debacle in Afghanistan, for example, was a huge defeat for the U.S. But it provided career-long enrichment opportunities for the Pentagon. The brass rotated through the Hindu Kush, punched up their resumes, got their medals and their “combat” pay… boosting their retirement compensation. Meanwhile, [they were spending trillions of dollars](. So it was not exactly a surprise that when their careers in the military were over, they went to work in cushy sinecures with defense contractors. In other words, the skills the officers learned had nothing to do with winning a war. Instead, they got to be very good at lobbying Congress and keeping the money headed in their own direction. Which is how they managed to get a [$24 billion increase]( – even after conducting a fiasco war for two decades. And now, always seeking more money, the whole officer corps is super sensitive to political fashions. It no longer even tries to win wars. Instead, it stretches them so as to squeeze out more money… while promising to fight like a lion against racism, global warming, inequality, and other bugaboos! Recommended Link [Toilet paper shortage returns - With a twist]( [image]( It’s back, As CNN has just confirmed… “Costco is limiting how much toilet paper you can buy again.” The nationwide chain, the fifth largest retailer in the world, also announced limits on “water and key items.” As you’ll soon learn, the buying limits we’re now seeing across the country are just the beginning of [something much bigger, much more serious, and far more dangerous](. Something that is set to hit our farms, our hospitals, even our military bases… Because unlike the previous shortages we saw in 2020… this time, the underlying cause is not a virus or government lockdown. And it’s not something that will just “go away” in a matter of weeks. This time, our world is staring down what may be [the worst supply chain crisis in human history](. The true culprit behind this new crisis may surprise you… [Click here to learn what’s causing all this — and how to prepare for what’s coming next.]( -- Real War Our question for today: What will happen when these people face a real war? We may already know. Last October, the Pentagon conducted a major wargame… apparently trying to model what might happen if the U.S. went head-to-head with China in Asia. In July, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. John Hyten, reported the results. Speaking at a conference sponsored by the National Defense Industrial Association, he revealed that the U.S. got its tail whupped. [Featured: The End of the NASDAQ…]( The Afghanistan adventure not only corrupted America’s armed elite, it also provided a 20-year opportunity for enemies to study U.S. equipment, tactics, and strategy. Hyten reports: An aggressive red team that had been studying the United States for the last 20 years just ran rings around us… They knew exactly what we’re going to do before we did it. In short, he added, the Pentagon “failed miserably.” Recommended Link [Bill Bonner: Shadow-Banned?]( [image]( Have [America’s top booksellers refused to carry Bill Bonner’s final book]( You won’t find new copies of Win-Win or Lose at Barnes & Noble… and not a single copy is floating around on eBay. In fact, the only used copy we could find was going for $79 on Amazon. Which is why Bill recently authorized us to take drastic steps to put a copy in your hands essentially free – as part of this limited time offer. [To claim yours, click here.]( -- Complete Annihilation Our friend, Byron King, former aide to the United States Chief of Naval Operations, elaborates: Opposing forces wrecked the entire complex of U.S. logistics. Rear bases came under fire, while aircraft and ships at sea were targeted by long-range missiles. There’s just no hiding anymore from people with sufficient technology to find you. Even worse, most U.S. weapons were outranged by new systems recently deployed by China, much of it based on advanced Russian designs. It’s a long-term U.S. failure in research, development and procurement. When the balloon went up, most U.S. forces near-immediately lost the ability to coordinate attacks and/or return fire. Much of the targeting data was worthless in any event, while systems used for aiming and guiding munitions also failed. To the extent that communications worked at all, much of the data were corrupted or hacked. It’s not overstating to say that, in this one wargame, far from home, the U.S. lost vast numbers of people and equipment. In real world terms, think of casualty numbers in the tens of thousands. Of entire bases obliterated. Of hundreds of airplanes lost. Of dozens of ships sunk. And that’s just in the first few days. The wargame ended with American forces defeated and devastated. U.S. allies were similarly shredded. And U.S. interests in the Western Pacific and Asia were annihilated. It was, of course, only a “game.” Real life will come later. Stay tuned. Regards, [signature] Bill --------------------------------------------------------------- Like what you’re reading? Send your thoughts to [feedback@rogueeconomics.com](mailto:feedback@rogueeconomics.com?subject=Just a game). --------------------------------------------------------------- FEATURED READS [Tom Dyson Finds Investment Security in Property and Gold]( Economics colleague Tom Dyson writes in a Friday mailbag edition about keeping his investments in property, gold, and life insurance policies… Read about how Tom and his family expect to live off their smart investments… [Even the Dollar Tree Is Feeling the Effects of Inflation]( Dollar Tree will begin selling items at $1.25 and $1.50 at some locations for the first time. It will also add $3 and $5 items to more stores. Dollar Tree CEO says the addition of items above $1 was in part a response to rising costs the chain is facing… MAILBAG While one dear reader comments on Bill’s thesis that America is [heading for a cliff]( another laments the feds’ disregard for the U.S. Constitution… The “wealthy” are “rich” on paper. They are in debt, supported by historically low interest rates. They are the ones, along with the banks, that actually own the property and issue the loans, that are going to suffer… which is why it is so important that the Federal Reserve keeps the leveraged equity markets and leveraged real estate markets going up, up, up forever. The Fed also has to keep giving money to the fools that depend on them so there is no revolution. Capitalism, being a credit economy based in fear and greed, is destined from the start to consume itself due to corruption. When people stop believing in the experimental concepts of democracy and capitalism, that is the day the “party” ends. It was devilishly fun, exciting, and, of course, very painful, but like with all extremes, the pendulum always swings back the other way. The people who have no debt, own their home, have solar electricity, solar hot water, rainwater catchment, and grow their own food will watch the parade of fools go by. Living with nature is the asset that endures. – Fletcher E. What amazes me is how far we’ve strayed from the Constitution, and how ignorant people are of the Constitution, which reflects original, authentic, American values. (The 5,000 Year Leap is an excellent book on the principles reflected in the Constitution.) The Constitution is a nearly perfect guide for a government that serves the people, and allows the people to achieve happiness and freedom. The problem is we have betrayed it. The overspending and power grabs by the feds, since the War Between the States, and before, is exactly what the Constitution was meant to prevent. One way or another, the feds take money out of our pockets and spend – or waste it – on frivolous matters. – Chaim K. Do you agree that the Constitution serves as a perfect guide for government, as Chaim K. says? How have we betrayed it? Write us at [feedback@rogueeconomics.com](mailto:feedback@rogueeconomics.com?subject=Just a game). IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… [BEWARE: 70 million Bitcoin Owners At RISK]( Most people are obsessing over the latest price fluctuation of Bitcoin. But they’re in for the shock of their lives. Because a new bug has quietly emerged in the Bitcoin network. It has nothing to do with Bitcoin’s volatility. Or its environmental impact. It’s infinitely dangerous. And it could soon lock 70 million investors out of their Bitcoin wallets. [Click here to see how to protect yourself from the Bitcoin flaw.]( [image]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Get Instant Access Click to read these free reports and automatically sign up for daily research. 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