Boondoggle Back Better

[Bill Bonner’s Diary]( Boondoggle Back Better By Bill Bonner Monday, November 22, 2021 [Bill Bonner] BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – Sit down. Remain calm. Let’s try to figure this out… The big news on Friday was that the House got together and passed Joe Biden’s social spending program. Nancy Pelosi congratulated herself: [The package] is a spectacular agenda for the future, with transformational action on health care, family care and climate that will make a significant difference in the lives of millions of Americans. Here at the Diary, we don’t care much for numbers. We don’t trust them. We’re talking about numbers used in public policy discussions – which tend to be confected on multiple levels of legerdemain and statistical fuzz. But the numbers connected to the Build Back Better Boondoggle are especially shifty. How much in tax increases? What’s the final tab? Darned if we know. Recommended Link [Your money is NOT safe…]( If you print money in your basement… It's called counterfeiting. And you go to jail. When political elites do it, they pretend it benefits us all. But… Look where all that new money ends up: [image]( Printing trillions of dollars hasn’t done a thing to enrich the working class over the last 40 years. In fact, regular Americans earn the same amount today than they did in the 1970’s if you adjust for inflation. And that’s not even the worst part… Because a new plan is now being discussed to alter the very bedrock of our monetary system. It’s a terrifying proposal for a new kind of currency. One that lets elites rig the game even more in their favor… And it could spell disaster for anyone with money saved for retirement. In fact, this new plan is the biggest threat to your wealth since the 16th amendment created the personal income tax... [Click here to find out how you can protect yourself.]( -- Fuzzy Numbers The numbers are all over the place, depending on which lies you believe. The Hill elaborates: That Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assessment, released Thursday evening, flew in the face of Biden’s promise that the legislation would be fully paid for. It has sparked some debate – and plenty of confusion – over how much the bill will cost overall. The CBO found that, in total, the package allocates $1.64 trillion in new federal spending over ten years. But unlike the White House, the budget office does not include the tax credits as part of that top-line number. If those credits are added to the CBO’s spending tally, the figure would jump into the $2.4 trillion range – well above Biden’s initial $1.75 trillion framework. [Featured: Retired yet? You can be, just watch this]( The Wall Street Journal tries to explain further: The current $10,000 limit on the state-and-local tax (SALT) deduction increases to $80,000 through 2030. In 2031 it would return to $10,000. Penn Wharton says this gimmick would lead to $65 billion in additional tax revenue through 2031 though it would cost about $300 billion through 2025. Well… we’re glad that’s cleared up! Recommended Link [SCREAMING Buy Alert]( [image]( This is a “SCREAMING” Buy Alert warning… Seven billionaires including Elon Musk, Mark Cuban, Peter Thiel, Mike Novogratz, and Marc Andreessen… Along with major banks like JPMorgan, UBS, and Goldman Sachs… Are all racing into one smaller cryptocurrency… (Not Bitcoin.) In 2021 alone, this small crypto soared 4X FASTER than Bitcoin… And over the next decade, this crypto could be worth more than Apple, Amazon, Google, and even Facebook… If you only buy ONE CRYPTO… This is the one you want. [Get the Crypto Name FREE (The #1 Must-Own Crypto).]( -- High-Cost Boondoggle The Penn Wharton Budget model “scored” Biden’s new Build Back Better Boondoggle at $4.6 trillion over 10 years. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (which sounds oxymoronic to us) says the cost will go to $4.9 trillion when the feds finally admit that the sun will never actually set on their “temporary” provisions. But for today’s purpose, let us assume that the Great Cause – whatever it is – will end up taking $5 trillion out of the public purse. Are you sitting down? Are you aware that this proposal comes on top of the $1.2 trillion “infrastructure” boondoggle… which came on top of the $2.77 trillion deficit for fiscal year 2021… which is 12% of GDP, considerably more than Argentina’s 8.5% deficit/GDP ratio? And are you aware that every penny in the public purse must come from the public, in one form or another? And that the purse now holds nearly $29 trillion worth of I.O.U.s that the public will eventually have to pay – most likely, in the form of higher consumer prices? Are you aware, too, that inflation is on the move… rising at the [fastest pace in 31 years]( And that the average working stiff is getting poorer (his wages are going up, but about 2% more slowly than prices)? [Featured: Jeff Brown says “This new technology is Ripping through the financial world”]( Elizabeth reported yesterday that her trip to the grocery store cost $100 more than it usually does. She thought the clerk had made a mistake. But it was no mistake; prices are rising. “Think of those poor families living paycheck to paycheck,” she said. “It must be awfully depressing.” Almost every penny of the federal deficit is now covered by “printing press” money. So isn’t adding another $5 trillion to federal spending likely to make the situation worse? And won’t this put voters in a foul mood, in which they will most likely throw out the Democrats in the next election? So, why on Earth would the feds do such a thing? 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.]( -- Obvious Cause We turn to a Democratic senator for a dumb answer. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) believes that additional spending is good for the economy. Newsweek reports: I disagree… that Build Back Better is going to add to inflation. In fact, economists rarely agree about anything, but 12 Nobel science economists say that Build Back Better is actually going to not add to inflation and will be anti-inflationary over the long term. So we need to get on and pass the Build Back Better to lower costs for families and to address climate change and all of the other parts of the bill that will actually strengthen our families and our economy. So, let’s see if we have this straight… Inflation is rising in almost all sectors. The rather obvious cause is that the Federal Reserve [added nearly $5 trillion to the nation’s monetary base]( since August 2019. As we elaborated Friday, fish gotta swim… and [money gotta buy something](. Buying things caused ships to back up, shelves to empty out, and prices to rise. And now, there are those among us – including 12 Nobel Prize-winning economists! – who believe that another $5 trillion down the drain will “strengthen our economy.” How so? Tomorrow… it might be worth looking at these 12 Nobel Prize-winners – or at least one of them – more closely. Regards, [signature] Bill --------------------------------------------------------------- Like what you’re reading? Send your thoughts to [feedback@rogueeconomics.com](mailto:feedback@rogueeconomics.com?subject=Boondoggle Back Better). --------------------------------------------------------------- FEATURED READS [How to Select Winning Stocks]( colleagues at Casey Research see the value in knowing how to select quality investments that are worth your hard-earned money. Here, learn four criteria for picking winning stocks… [Tree Buyers Should Expect to Pay More This Year]( trees are among the list of items that you can expect to pay more for this year… Experts say tree buyers should expect to pay between 10% and 30% more for both live and artificial trees… MAILBAG Dear readers are weighing in on inflation and the rising cost of food, from [Bill’s essay on Friday]( and some don’t agree that the value of the dollar is weakened… I was in a grocery store today, and from the 1940's I have seen cans of evaporated milk in the same size cans until today. I walked down that aisle and I had to jump back as I saw the cans were reduced to small cans and a rise in price. Over the years the price had risen so high that I wouldn't buy any as there are 128 oz. per gallon It was easy to calculate that it cost around $14.00 a gallon. Too high for me. But now the cans are smaller, and the price is still up. I could only think that they are hiding inflation as best they can. Get less and pay only a little more. In reality, the price is much higher than the high price of yesterday. – Richard S. I agree with all the points you made. But the third point, the leveraged traders etc., let them fail, they deserve it. Fourth point, we certainly have become soft as a nation. Too big to fail, the welfare state, all the Marxist policies in academia, media, on and on. Fifth point, the elites are power hungry, narcissistic, and will demand the Fed prop up the economy again, to the failure of the dollar. We are doomed. – Paul R. Can you keep a secret? The U.S. dollar is stronger today than it has been in decades. What the U.S. government and the Fed did to keep the economy alive and people from literally starving during the shutdowns, lockdowns and whatever you want to call it, should be lauded. Don't like it? Too bad. It's now in the rearview mirror. If you're going 80 mph and know that there is a lane closure ahead, you don't jam on the brakes and cause chaos behind you. You take your foot off the gas and slow down gradually. That's how you avoid catastrophes. We have inflation and it's livable. So Thanksgiving will cost me an extra $10. Miraculously, we will survive. Get that idiot out of the White House and gas will go back down as drilling goes up. Blame everything on COVID because we are all afraid to blame anything else. It's life in the fast lane and it will not end with a huge crash. How do I know? I'm very old and have lived through this crap before. – Kenny G. And another comment on the[COVID-19 panic]( and vaccine mandates… If you think the so-called vaccine is safe or even effective, you need to start doing some research. The reality is that it is neither, so those who either advocate its use or pay no real attention to it, are irresponsible at best, and therefore complicit with a federal administration and “health” establishment that cares nothing for either human lives or international and/or constitutional law. Do you honestly think that nurses and others involved directly in caring for patients don't know the damage this jab has done and why it has killed and maimed thousands, and that's why many of them refuse to put their lives on the line? Wake up! – Charles S. And lastly, general praise for Bill and [his views on climate change]( Dear Professor Bonner, excellent letter! Us folks that LIKE to have the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the freedom to be FREE agree with your points of view. Just the right tone too sir. Oh, and I've been around for most of a century and as far as I can tell, the climate has always been “changing.” I've noticed we have fewer glaciers now, yes, but seriously (based on science!) that it is the fault of cow farts or North America. – Curtis G. What rising prices, if any, are you noticing in your daily life? What happens next for the U.S with inflation? Write us at feedback@rogueeconomics.com. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… [The 3-Stock Retirement Blueprint]( When most folks think about making money through the markets, they think “buy and hold.” They think “diversification.” And they think about investing in things like index funds. But one man has a different approach… It’s called the “3-Stock Retirement Blueprint.” It’s a way to play 3 stocks – yes, just 3 – and potentially make more money than you would by trading all the rest of them… Or by using an old-fashioned approach. Sound impossible? [Get all the details here]( – including the names and tickers of the three stocks. 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