Month: March 2024

Last month, CBO Director Phill Swagel claimed that the influx of illegal immigrants into the United States will boost 2023-2034 GDP by “about 7 Trillion.”

Yet while we wait for those unicorn farts to percolate, the Heritage Foundation estimates in a new report that the influx of migrants is costing American taxpayers billions of dollars, as most of the 470,000 unaccompanied migrant children who have entered the country since Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration have been enrolled in public schools.

In FY2023 alone, CBP encountered 145,474 accompanied and unaccompanied minors nationwide – which, based on the national average of $16,345 spent per student, would increase national education spending by more than $2 billion for one year, according to the Heritage report’s fact sheet.

The report looked at instances in California, New York, Texas and Arizona where unaccompanied minors were sent to sponsors, according to data from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a government agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

For example, in California, 11,121 unaccompanied migrant children were sent to sponsors. If all those children enrolled in public school, at the state average spending of $16,975 per pupil, that equates to an additional cost of about $189 million for one year.

The report similarly found that in New York, 8,477 unaccompanied migrant children were sent to sponsors. The state spends $28,261 on each pupil per year, making the total additional cost to taxpayers close to $240 million for one year. –Fox News

“Parents should not also have to worry about their kids going to the back of the line in terms of school resources, teacher attention, and academic rigor due to sudden and large influxes of illegal aliens into their schools and classrooms,” Heritage scholars and two of the report’s authors, Lindsey Burke and Lora Ries, told Fox News Digital.

The report also highlights the misuse of school property, classroom mismanagement and limited English proficiency, which is holding other students back.

As an example, Fox News cites the case of New York City parents who were furious with city officials after Brooklyn Hight School students were forced to stay home for virtual lessons so that migrants could pile into the school gymnasium. Other reports suggest that NY Public Schools have struggled to educate some 20,000 new migrant students

Authored by James Glassman via RealClear Wire,

Remember U.S. Steel? It isn’t what it used to be. Founded in 1901 by Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan, the company was the symbol of American industrial power. But employment peaked 80 years ago at 340,000; it’s now 23,000. Once the largest corporation of any kind in the world, U.S. Steel now ranks 27th among global steel producers — and dropping. “It’s done nothing for decades,” according to steel industry analyst Charles Bradford. 

Stagnation in steel is hardly inevitable. In 1969, another American steelmaker, Nucor, pioneered the electric arc mini mill, which recycles scrap metal, but U.S. Steel is still devoted to less efficient blast furnaces that produce three times the CO2 emissions. Nucor is now the number-one steelmaker in the country by far, its stock rising by a factor of 12 in the last two decades.

The obvious solution to U.S. Steel’s problem was to find a deep-pocketed purchaser — and that’s what it did. The company in December accepted an offer by Nippon Steel Corp., the world’s fourth-largest steel producer. Nippon agreed to pay $14.9 billion for the company, a surprisingly large all-cash sum – a 142% premium to the price of the stock on Aug. 11. That’s when Cleveland-Cliffs, a blast-furnace producer about the same size as U.S. Steel, made the original attempt to buy the company. In the end, Nippon outbid Cleveland-Cliffs, which wanted to pay with cash plus shares of a stock that’s been lackluster.  

U.S. Steel also worried that a combination of the second- and third-largest American steelmakers would draw opposition from aggressive Biden antitrust regulators. Still, despite its defeat, Cleveland-Cliffs mobilized legislators to try to kill the Nippon acquisition. Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman called the purchase “absolutely outrageous.” Donald Trump is also opposed: “I think it’s a horrible thing.” 

Customers gathered recently at the Tampa Steel Conference disagree. Along with most U.S. Steel workers, they are thrilled with the deal. The head of the United Steelworkers of America called the sale “shortsighted,” but the union is probably just trying to gain negotiating leverage. Actual U.S. Steel employees were more worried about their company continuing to wither away and about potential layoffs with a Cleveland-Cliffs acquisition.

Sure, we can shed a brief tear over a Japanese company buying an American icon, but what U.S. Steel needs is not nostalgia but capital and up-to-date technology.  Nippon has a shot at providing both and thus reviving an American icon.

U.S. Steel is not alone in its distress. Much of the American steel industry is fragmented and starved for investment. A wave of buyouts and consolidations is the sector’s best hope. “We don’t need one or two deals,” said Waldo Best, an industry analyst with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. “We need 10 or 20.”

If a foreign company offers a route to success that will benefit American investors, consumers and workers, is there really a problem? Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) seems to think so. He argues that “the foreign ownership of assets of such national importance could jeopardize our security.” But “foreign” in this case refers to Japan. As the State Department puts it, “The U.S.-Japan Alliance is the cornerstone of U.S. security interests in Asia and is fundamental to regional stability and prosperity.”

Japan is a bulwark against the real foreign threat to the U.S. economy and security, which is China. The House Select Committee on the Chinese Community Party in December recommended that Japan be added to the “white list” of foreign states – now just the U.K., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia – that are exempt from various requirements of CFIUS, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which must approve deals with a possible effect on national security.

China produces more than 10 times as much steel as the United States, and eight Chinese companies rank among the world’s top dozen steel producers. If we’re really worried about steel for national security reasons, we should be enhancing the position of our closest allies like Japan and welcoming them when they want to put billions into U.S. manufacturing.

The best antidote to the Chinese challenge – and the best chance of reviving an American icon — is not to block investment but to encourage it. And the higher the price someone is willing to pay for U.S. assets, the better.

James K. Glassman, formerly a senior fellow in economics and technology at the American Enterprise Institute, served as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs and as a member of the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee.

LIVE from Washington DC with Senator Ron Johnson and Former Congressman Joe Walsh https://t.co/xPcKPPwJfF

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 6, 2024

ZeroHedge presents the latest debate in our series aimed at bringing live, long-form discussions on controversial topics back into the ideologically-siloed and echo-chambered media landscape.

We hope you enjoy this debate which pits two (one current, one former) members of Congress against each other — Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and former Congressman Joe Walsh of Illinois — for an in-depth discussion on the war in Ukraine and the role America should play now and in the future. X Spaces influencer Mario Nawfal will moderate the debate in-person, which will stream live on ZeroHedge, Rumble and X.

They will try to answer the question: Should the U.S. continue to fund and provide operational support to Ukraine?

To illustrate their divide: Walsh, the former Illinoisan Rep, has hailed Biden’s Ukraine policy as “one of the greatest defenses of freedom… ever put on the world’s stage” while the Wisconsinite Senator believes Ukraine “can’t win” and that it and the U.S. must pursue a negotiated settlement.

Healthy debate is sorely lacking on Capitol Hill, where it’s most needed. For bucking this trend, we have tremendous respect for both Johnson and Walsh and are looking forward to a civil exchange of ideas. We urge more elected officials to follow the Walsh-Johnson example.

As usual, our moderator will take questions submitted by Premium and Pro subscribers in the comment section (sign up here for the opportunity to have your question answered by a member of Congress).

We also wish to thank our primary sponsor, Birch Gold, for supporting free speech and open debate.  

Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us

When we hear the word “discrimination” we often associate it with the concept of racial prejudice, the act of hate based purely on skin color or ethnicity. Multiple generations of westerners have been conditioned over the years to treat discrimination as an anathema to civilization – A net negative. But is all discrimination “unjust,” or is it sometimes necessary to keep civilization safe and intact?

Every person on Earth discriminates in one way or another because it’s a survival imperative, but let me clarify what I mean when I use the term. I argue that discrimination is simply the act of refusing to associate with another person or group, and this is often NOT based merely on skin color or differences in appearance. In reality, most discrimination is rooted in personal safety and cultural security.

Human beings are tribal, there’s no way around this biological imperative and it will never change. Tribalism is based on physical safety, but also ideological safety. Human beings form tribes and kingdoms and nations and borders because they have a particular set of values, religious beliefs and cultural norms that they want to maintain and protect. They have found a system that works for them and that keeps their society from imploding, and they want to ensure that there is no sabotage of that system from within.

Hence, the need for suspicion and discrimination when a tribe is faced with outsiders that champion a hostile or contrary ideal. The threat of being subsumed and destroyed by another tribe’s culture has been a motivator for discrimination since human history began.

Another factor is the discrimination of certain behaviors. Human tribes learned long ago that destructive people are sometimes born and no amount of social pressure can make them different. Psychopaths, some sociopaths, narcopaths, the severely mentally ill, etc. cannot be allowed to thrive within a tribe or they will eventually cause great harm. The tribe could even break apart and die out.

It’s not a white person thing, it’s not a western thing, it’s a reality for every group of humans on the planet.  We don’t all need to agree on one homogeneous civilization that embraces every person and all behaviors.  It’s okay for us to separate from each other and live differently (at least to a point). It’s okay to not want to associate with mentally unhinged or evil persons that create chaos within society, and it’s okay to reject the imposition of incompatible and alien philosophies.

Leftists and globalists, on the other hand, assert that ANY separation and lack of association between groups is unacceptable. There can be only one tribe and that tribe MUST follow progressive/socialist mandates. It’s the Tower of Babel all over again and the leftist ideal is decidedly intolerant of anyone that does not conform to centralization. A key part of this globalist philosophy is the demonization of discrimination.

Moral Decay Feeds Authoritarian Subterfuge

The woke religion relies on the leftist fallacy that all discrimination is a “social negative.” There are a few reasons why they push this narrative. Without discrimination there can be no moral judgment. Without the application of morals and standards of behavior, society cannot survive and it will eventually collapse. This is exactly what leftists want.

Once a society collapses it can be rebuilt with a certain authoritarian flexibility and in the image leftists prefer.  They will assert their own rules, their own taboos, their own mandates and their own vision. Specifically, they want to tear down western civilization and replace it with something rooted in moral relativism. In a morally relative world, all evil becomes permissible as long as the group doing evil controls the application of law.

We see this most distinctly in the spread of the trans movement and the invasion of woke politics in public schools. The blatant sexualization of children is happening right now across the west and it is supported by corporate interests, state governments and the current federal government.  This agenda includes the rationalization of some pretty heinous behaviors, like pedophilia.

Conservatives were once called “conspiracy theorists” for arguing that this was the end game for woke activism, and yet, here we are, fighting to keep pornography out of elementary school and middle-school libraries as academics argue that pedophiles should be treated as a protected sexual orientation.

There are even leftist politicians today openly admonishing discrimination of pedophiles as a brand of “hate speech” and laws are being passed in states like California to reduce punishments for such criminals. There is a clear program in motion to make something evil into something protected or even celebrated.

Cultural Sabotage Through Mass Immigration And Forced Association

Beyond the issue of necessary moral discrimination, there is the problem of cultural invasion. In Europe the danger is becoming existential, with at least 20 million migrants flooding into the EU in the past several years and more arriving everyday. Many of these migrants are from Islamic fundamentalist nations and they have no intention of assimilating into a western structure. Rather, they plan to change or deconstruct the west from within through something called “soft jihad.”

The bottom line? Islamic fundamentalism and Sharia Law are utterly incompatible with western principles and the two groups CANNOT exist peacefully in the same society. It is impossible. The rising calls by Europeans for the removal of migrants is not based in racism, it is driven by a cultural survival mechanism. Europeans can see the writing on the wall – In 10 to 20 years time their culture will no longer exist and they are acting to protect it.

In the US, the invasion is more political. Millions of migrants are being allowed to sneak into the US as Democrats continue to interfere with border security measures enforced by states like Texas. At the same time they are creating incentives for migrants to come here by offering welfare and subsidies, not to mention the potential for a general amnesty that would give them easy citizenship.

Most of these illegals come from socialist leaning countries and they have no concept whatsoever of what a Constitutional Republic is or what constitutional rights are. These migrants are a weapon being used by leftists to saturate the US. It is a strategy to erase conservative principles through attrition.

The Value Of Separation

Western civilization, western science, and free markets are perhaps the most profound accomplishments in the history of mankind, resulting in an extreme reduction in overall global poverty when compared to centuries past. In 1820, 94% of the global population was living in extreme poverty.  By 2015, that number dropped to 9.6% and the world’s population is vastly larger.

The moral foundations of the west, while not always adhered to as we might prefer, are still the bedrock for some of the most free and most prosperous people of any era. There are good reasons to protect the west from alien cultures that want to undermine it.

There also good reasons to discriminate against and expel leftists/globalists who grew up here but who are obsessed with deconstructing all remnants of the system because they think they know better. At no point have I ever heard a leftist group say: “Hey, we should all move to another place together and start a fresh new socialist experiment away from interference.”

No, they do not believe in separation. They want OUR culture. They want to stand on the ruins of our accomplishments and force everyone to accept their system, their beliefs and their moral relativism. Infestation, oppression and possession are the building blocks of their ideology.  The only solution is unapologetic and uncompromising discrimination against their kind. It’s okay to not invite cancer into your body.  It’s okay to not invite a vampire into your home.  It’s okay to not invite evil into your society. It’s good to discriminate.

US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly & Co. is racing to expand the manufacturing capacity of its lucrative new class of diabetes and weight-loss drug Zepbound. This comes as rival Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster appetite suppressant Wegovy drug is being rolled out across the West to capitalize on the obesity crisis. 

In November, Zepbound, featuring the active ingredient tirzepatide, also used in diabetes drug Mounjaro, was approved for weight-loss use in the US in Novemeber, making it the first drug to compete against Wegovy.

Since the rollout, the Indianapolis-based company has signed multiple deals with US government-backed manufacturer National Resilience and Italian producer BSP to expand manufacturing capacity, according to the Financial Times. 

“There was a lot of investment in high-speed, large-capacity fill lines during Covid and there were questions about how that capacity is going to be used going forward, and then the GLP-1s came along and now the problem is almost the opposite,” said Jim Miller, a consultant who advises drugmakers on manufacturing strategy.

Even as Zepbound production is set to increase and sales are projected to be in the billions of dollars this year, according to projections by research group GlobalData, there is growing concern that demand won’t be met. 

On Wednesday, Lilly CFO Anat Ashkenazi warned investors at the TD Cowen annual healthcare conference that it might be unable to keep up with demand through 2025. 

Ashkenazi said that Lilly is undertaking the most ambitious expansion agenda in its history but that production capacity will be strained for some time. 

Last month, Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen warned: “There’ll be a demand that outgrows what can be produced by us, and probably also competition.”

Lilly’s and Novo’s shares have surged several hundred percent since 2021. 

The shift in investor euphoria around GLP-1s began around the first half of 2023. This was noticeable in the Goldman Sachs Global HLC GLP Risk Index versus Goldman’s GLP-1 Obesity drug basket to capitalize on slimming down Americans. 

Besides slimming down the West, investors piled into big tech, artificial intelligence, and crypto. 

Instead of overweight Americans rushing to weight loss drugs, why not change diets and go outside and exercise? Or better yet, demand change from the food-industrial complex that continues pushing unhealthy crap on consumers. 

Authored by Donald Jeffries via “I Protest,”

I’m the guy who coined the term The Trumpenstein Project. My good friend John Barbour came up with Trump Agnostic to describe how we felt about the former Reality TV star. Trump, I mean, not John Barbour, who has been described as the Godfather of Reality Television.

I may very well be the last Trump Agnostic standing. It’s not only the smallest minority group in the world, but I’m not even sure who any other members are at this point. My Trumpenstein thesis is that the elite recruited the most bombastic and obnoxious personality they could, and inserted him into the presidential campaign. They assigned him the role of populist outsider, and wrote some alluring rhetoric for him, which was often revolutionary. He wooed millions, including me. Millions of others instantly hated him. That’s how programming works. I didn’t think he could possibly be sincere, but I couldn’t completely discount the notion that a billionaire could theoretically become fed up with what he’d witnessed behind the scenes. At any rate, once Trump selected his cabinet, the psyop became obvious.

Choosing Mike Pence as his running mate gained him nothing politically. Were the evangelicals going to vote for Hillary without Pence on the ticket? He also lost how ever many gay votes he was going to get. For whatever reason, gays hate Pence like no other politician. Trump redeemed himself a bit with his inaugural address, which was the best since JFK’s in my opinion. But as he announced the choices for his cabinet, each one brought an additional shake of the head, and an additional dose of disillusionment. Nikki Haley had been one of the loudest Never Trumpers. Trump, nevertheless, first offered her the prestigious position of Secretary of State, and she ultimately became his U.N. ambassador.

Jeff Sessions seemed like a decent choice as Attorney General, given his strong stance on immigration. But his lust for our militarized police forces came through loud and clear. He actually wanted to bolster the odious asset forfeiture laws, which are the foundation of the corrupt policing for profit system. He also inexplicably recused himself from any potential prosecution of Hillary Clinton. You know, Crooked Hillary, “Lock her up!” and all that. But Trump let his supporters know there was going to be no prosecution of his old friend, when he began complimenting her during his speech declaring victory. He declared she was “good people,” and didn’t want to prosecute her. Which he promised to do countless times during his 2016 campaign. His second Attorney General, William Barr, was even worse, prosecuting only Trump supporters.

We now know that Hillary was scheming to orchestrate the “Russia! Russia! Russia!” psyop before the 2016 election. This was revealed not by some lowly Thought Criminal like me, but by beloved former CIA director John Brennan. They don’t come any more reliable than CIA officials, as our “free press” regularly reminds us. So, yes, along with the ridiculous Steele Dossier, Trump was indeed under attack by the Swamp he vowed to drain, during his entire four years in office. This is invariably the excuse given by his adoring fans. But they never explain why, as he was under such an unprecedented assault, he never attempted to fight back. Never used the considerable powers of his office. Instead, he produced a steady stream of often juvenile tweets.

FBI Director Christopher Wray was appointed to his position by Trump. That’s right, this maverick outsider chose an undisguised Never Trumper to head the Bureau that would have been instrumental in an investigation of Hillary or any other villain from the Swamp. So naturally Wray concentrated, from the very beginning of his tenure in office, on following the deluded “Russiagate” fantasies, instead of focusing on those who were attacking Trump unfairly. Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller was chosen not to investigate Hillary’s destruction of emails and a laptop, or her scheme to tie Trump to Russian “collusion,” but Donald Trump himself. Mueller and William Barr, Trump’s second Attorney General, just happened to be best friends. No one said the Trumpenstein Project had to be believable.

Trump wasn’t playing “4D chess.” He wasn’t following the old adage of “keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.” And I don’t believe he’s actually as stupid as he usually sounds. “Covfefe” and “hamberders” weren’t some mystical code that mere mortals couldn’t fathom. But I do think they were part of the act. Covfefe, by the way, is now an accepted word. It has its own Wikipedia page. Which some of us don’t. The absurd misspellings and grammatical errors, the repeating of the same word or phrase ad nauseum, all just exacerbated the hatred that millions felt for him. And endeared him to millions of others. Some inferred that Trump didn’t know how to read, that he was illiterate. Like all those athletes we are supposed to believe are college graduates. Maybe Trump was just a One Percent version of an Affirmative Action project.

QAnon was a necessary invention of some intelligence agency. There had to be a way to explain to the MAGA faithful why Trump was surrounding himself with Never Trumpers and not even attempting to fulfill any of his many campaign promises. So millions became disciples of “Q drops,” and never blinked when the continuous predictions never came true. They actually believed the military- exemplified by Trump hater General Mark Milley (who was, naturally, appointed by Trump)- was in charge behind the scenes. They claimed child sex traffickers were being rounded up. There were secret trials of Hillary and other Deep State criminals being held at Guantanamo Bay. I read recently where Oprah Winfrey is secretly on trial now. These “White Hats” behave as inconspicuously as the “White Supremacists” do.

At any rate, Trump never kept any of his promises. To American citizens. He was so loyal to Israel that they named streets for him there. He didn’t try to end birthright citizenship. Or the foreign visa worker programs. Or sanctuary cities. Or DACA. He somehow managed to deport fewer illegals than Barack Obama. That couldn’t have been easy, so give him some credit. He let statues be torn down, cities burn and looters run wild during the summer of 2020. He did tweet a lot. Never sent the National Guard in. Like the Republican governor of Massachusetts did when Ron DeSantis shipped a handful of migrants to the entitled community of Martha’s Vineyard.

If Trump had been a real outsider, you would have seen people like Ron and/or Rand Paul, Paul Craig Roberts, Pat Buchanan, Dinesh D’Souza, maybe even Alex Jones, named to key positions in his administration. I know the response to that is, “He had to name those insiders. They would never have approved those others.” Well, Trump should have at least tried. Historically, some nominees have been rejected by Congress. For instance, Jimmy Carter, in his best attempted move, tried to get JFK’s speechwriter Ted Sorenson approved as CIA director. I don’t think Trump had a single nominee rejected. And considering how much he was despised by both parties, that ought to really tell you something. Trump selected nothing but Swamp creatures.

But despite Trump rescuing a Black rapper from Sweden, and engineering the release of an unfairly convicted Black woman from prison, at the behest of Kim Kardashian no less, millions declared that he was a “racist.” Period. In all reality, those moves on behalf of Black citizens were two of the few actions Trump was responsible for in his entire presidential term. The closest he came to being a “racist” was very reasonably saying there were “good people” on both sides during the Charlottesville protests. He never mentioned the word “White” in reference to Caucasians in four years as president. He certainly never uttered the words “Great Replacement.” He did brag incessantly about how low Black unemployment was, though. Actually, he called it African-American unemployment. It’s a White cuck thing, you wouldn’t understand.

But enough about how different Trump’s rhetoric was from his record. He definitely had, and still has, the right enemies. All the worst people in the world, the modern doorkeepers of Satan, hate him with a fervor that even Adolph Hitler couldn’t match. Of course, “Russiagate” was a joke. And it was documented to have been the illegitimate brainchild of Hillary Clinton. Who not only wasn’t prosecuted (by the Trump justice department), but continues to rant about how the 2016 election was stolen from her. Almost like Trump does about the 2020 election. Only Trump is being prosecuted for complaining about his election. Some allegations of electoral fraud are more equal than others.

Trump was the subject of more obscene and distasteful public comments and media ridicule than any other American in history. More than Huey Long. More than Richard Nixon. More than Jim Garrison. There was a play running for months in New York, that celebrated the mock assassination of Donald Trump. Upstanding America 2.0 celebrity Snoop Dogg also depicted the assassination of Trump in a video. Trump would repay the venerable Snoop by pardoning his friend, the president of Death Row Records, and not Julian Assange, as he left office. Trump was certainly a strange sort of “racist.” Kind of like all those “White Supremacists,” who remain in the shadows, overseeing the Great Replacement.

Celebrities showed absolute disdain for Trump in their intellectual offerings on Twitter. So did virtually every “journalist” in our state controlled media. Indeed, Trump’s one enduring legacy may be to have popularized the phrase “fake news,” and inadvertently exposed just how bad our “free press” really is. No matter how many Black rappers he rescued, or how few illegal immigrants he actually deported, the constant refrain was that Trump was a hopeless “racist.” In fact, he came to define the term. And, of course, everyone who supported him were “racists” too. Trump actually instituting the unconstitutional lockdown (proving that he could do something after all), and claiming credit for, and praising the dangerous “warp speed” vaccine didn’t matter. He was still a “racist.” And responsible for all the incorrigible anti-vaxxers.

Trump’s three nominees to the Supreme Court were attacked viciously by the usual suspects. And his loyalists, when confronted with the stark evidence of his inactivity as president, invariably point to them as his greatest accomplishment. Except that one of them, Amy Coney Barrett, votes against him every time. Brett Kavanaugh is hit or miss. Only Neil Gorsuch has been pretty decent. And yet, those with Trump Derangement syndrome (and it is a very real mental disorder) continue to portray them as right-wing extremists. White Supremacists. Perhaps “insurrectionists.” Like Trump, they are guilty of Thought Crimes they never committed. We’ll see how they rule on his politicized prosecutions and remaining electoral disputes. So far, their track record doesn’t give much hope to MAGA loyalists.

So let’s look at these Trump show trials. I don’t know what the Soviet legal process really was like, before they sent dissidents off to Siberia, but how much more corrupt could it have been? Trump was convicted, and forced to pay millions, to a certifiable lunatic, who paints her trees blue and named her cat vagina. For sexually assaulting her in a crowded department store dressing room, at some point in the 1990s. She couldn’t recall the exact year. Seriously. And she is on the record having joked about having sex with Donald Trump on social media. She is the poster child for uncredible witnesses. But a jury, and one of the endless biased judges assigned to Trump’s cases, ruled in her favor. As the “Woke” White women say, “I believe her!”

Trump just lost again (he always loses, this is part of the Trumpenstein Project), in a ridiculous case where he “defrauded” well…not sure who, exactly, but his “crime” was exaggerating the value of his assets. You know, something pretty much everyone has done. Those who loaned him the money said he paid them back properly. In other words, they were witnesses for him. But Judge Nosferatu (and there is really no more appropriate name for him) ruled against him anyway and ordered him to pay an Alex Jones-like $400 million. Since there was no party claiming to have been injured or defrauded, it’s unclear where that money is going. But the millions who hate him are overjoyed. Well, not exactly. They won’t be satisfied until he’s hung in Times Square. Do it on New Year’s Eve and have him swing along with the giant ball.

In Georgia, Trump is being prosecuted for trying to “overturn” an election. By “overturn,” the “Woke” authoritarians mean legally attempting to get the courts to act on what Trump and his team believe is clear electoral fraud. In the same state, the lovely Stacy Abrams continues to insist she was robbed in her race for governor. Somehow, this is not an attempt to “overturn” an election. I’m sure Rachel Maddow could explain the distinction. And the even more lovely Fani Willis is large and in charge here. If Trump really is a racist, he must be feeling like unreconstructed southerners felt in the late 1860s, on being “represented” in Congress by illiterate former slaves. If he ever were to utter a racial epithet, now would be the time.

TDS has claimed millions of victims. It’s nonfatal in physical terms, but it is absolutely lethal to the intellect. I’ve seen many a friend fall victim to it. It causes one to lose all sense of perspective. The victim begins to believe that the intelligence agencies, the military industrial complex, and the mainstream media are all fine and worthwhile institutions. They actually believe that Trumpenstein opposes these forces, which represent the Deep State he talked about. The Swamp he vowed to drain. And so George W. Bush is now a hero. He opposed Trump! Demonic Dick Cheney’s vile offspring Liz is now the sexiest thing since Michelle Obama. Forget about the dead intern in Joe Scarborough’s old congressional office. He hates Trump!

To those with TDS, all politics is viewed through the prism of Trumpenstein. Because Trump spoke out against the “senseless wars,” those who hate him have to be in favor of war. See “I stand with Ukraine.” Because Trump criticized our Third World infrastructure, those who hate him want the roads, bridges, and power grids to remain in their present laughable state. Except for getting rid of any “racist” roads. And rest assured that the saintly Joe Biden will see to that. He’ll be on it like it was a little girl with the fresh scent of No More Tangles in her hair. Since Trump often hinted at conspiratorial thinking, those with TDS can no longer believe in any conspiracies. Well, except “Russiagate.” And the Trump-directed January 6 “insurrection.”

The only issue where they face a real dilemma is the COVID vaccine. Despite 90+ percent of his supporters being skeptical about it, Trump continues to tirelessly promote it. And yet, while all those with TDS enthusiastically embrace the vaccine, they curiously manage to ignore the fact that their sworn enemy claims credit for it. While Trump threw the January 6 protesters under the bus by not marching with them as he promised, didn’t pardon them before leaving office, and rarely mentions them in his circus barker rallies, he is still blasted for orchestrating the entire thing. His speech proves he didn’t “incite” anyone (he told them to march “peacefully and patriotically”), yet the media, and all those with TDS, insist he did. To them, the worst overreaction to a protest in history becomes “an attempt to overthrow democracy.”

We have seen several states take another unprecedented step, in voting to bar Donald Trump, a former president and current frontrunner in the polls, from their ballots. To their credit, the Supreme Court just voted 9-0 in Trump’s favor on this question. But the attempt illustrates the role of this scripted spectacle. All’s fair in the Trumpenstein Project. Politicized prosecutions. Efforts to prevent him from running again. The leadership of the Republicucks- his own supposed party- continues to be repelled by even the possibility of Making American Great Again, let alone emphasizing America First. Yes, Trump never says “America First” any longer. But it’s still an ominous prospect for those suffering with TDS. Can you imagine the horror of putting your own country’s interests first?

People in Donald Trump’s social and financial class, even if they aren’t ex-presidents of the United States, don’t get prosecuted. They are unequivocally above the law. The courts are primarily for convicting poor and working-class defendants who are often innocent. You can scour the huge prison system in this country, and you won’t find any former One Percenters incarcerated there. The system is designed to protect them, in the extremely rare instances where they are actually charged with a crime. Those with Trump’s resources should have a “Dream Team” of legal representatives that puts O.J.’s lawyers to shame. Instead, Trump’s lawyers have all been laughingstocks, the kind a ghetto denizen might get assigned to him. And unlike every wealthy man before him, Trump cannot seem to win in any courtroom.

This should give the Trumpenstein Project away. It’s designed for Trump to lose consistently. While he and his supporters continue to nonsensically claim he’s “winning.” The script calls for the Giant Orange Man- representing the last gasp of White alpha masculinity- to be defeated over and over again, usually at the hands of arrogant, ignorant Affirmative Action hires like Fani Willis and company. Like the Stupid Party he represents, Trump is basically the Washington Generals, being defeated in every game, by the lovable all-Black Harlem Globetrotters. Who openly cheat, and always have the referees on their side. It’s somewhat of an allegory for life in America 2.0, as far as average White Americans are concerned.

Trumpenstein has destroyed traditional American politics. The childish, cafeteria food fights on social media. The immature nicknames. Trump’s penis size even made it into a 2016 presidential debate, when he insisted he didn’t have small hands, and that “trust me,” the other thing wasn’t small, either. The more extreme TDS patients call him “micro-penis.” If things devolve logically, perhaps Trump will just whip it out at the next presidential debate. You can bet his fans would cheer it on. If it looks big, expect his millions of haters to call it “fake news.” Despite the term originating with Trump, everyone uses it now, to dismiss something they don’t like. They even denigrated the looks of Melania Trump, the most beautiful First Lady in history.

The Trumpenstein Project was designed to tap into the widespread populist sentiment in the country, and control it with this larger than life contrived personality. The political show trials are symbolic prosecutions of any real potential dissent. The independent political movement was destroyed by Trump. RFK, Jr. claims to still be polling at over twenty percent. If so, by their own debate rules, they have to let him participate. I just don’t see them allowing that. Any halfway competent individual would expose Joe Biden’s dementia in a debate. But not Trumpenstein. He can be counted on to bluster and bully, and make the helpless old codger-in-chief look sympathetic. That’s the Trumpenstein Project.

Thanks to this giant psyop, there will never be a viable Third Party movement in this country. Not that there was much of a chance before, but now virtually all Americans, having been subjected to this intensive programming, are back mired in the two disastrous “choices” or Democrat or Republican. Evil vs. stupid. The millions afflicted with TDS must vote for the putrid Democrats, regardless of wars, censorship, and massive inflation. Because Trump. The millions who cling naively to Trump will vote Republican Because Trump as well. Both parties “care about the children.” Both insist on a “strong defense.” Support the troops. Respect the police. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Unless you’re a billionaire or an illegal immigrant. “Hate Speech” isn’t free speech. Say “African-American” three times and click your heels.

In the days before Trump, things were awful. There was never any one worth voting for. Thus, the popularity of choosing “the lesser of two evils.” It was accepted by all that two evils would always be the choice. To be fair, Trump has at least made politics more exciting. When he’s attacking the unspeakably evil Democrats, or their insufferable mouthpieces in the media, it’s hard not to applaud. Or at least laugh. I am rooting for Trump to be selected as president again this year. Not because I think he’ll do anything good. But for the sheer entertainment value. CNN and MSNBC would become must-watch TV. It’s surely a sad commentary on the “world’s greatest democracy” that this is the best we can hope for.

Authored by Nick Giambruno via InternationalMan.com,

Total war between the world’s largest powers that reshuffled the international order defined the previous world wars.

Total war between the largest powers today—Russia, China, and the US—means a nuclear Armageddon where there are no winners and only losers.

That could still happen despite nobody wanting it, but it’s not the most likely outcome.

World War 3 is unlikely to be a direct kinetic war between the US, Russia, and China.

Instead, the conflict will play out on different levels—proxy wars, economic wars, financial wars, cyber wars, biological wars, deniable sabotage, and information wars.

In that sense, World War 3 is already well underway, even though most don’t recognize it.

Below, I’ll look at the seven domains World War 3 is playing out on and analyze which side has an advantage.

Domain #1: Financial Warfare

Financial warfare refers to the use of financial methods as a strategy to achieve military or political objectives.

One common tool of financial warfare is the imposition of sanctions or embargoes. This can involve freezing assets, restricting trade, or limiting access to international financial systems. The goal is to damage the target’s economy, weakening its ability to pursue certain policies or actions.

Imposing controls on the movement of capital and investments can also serve as a weapon in financial warfare. This could involve restricting foreign investments in specific sectors or limiting the ability of foreign investors to withdraw their funds.

Take, for example, the US government’s actions after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The US government launched its most aggressive financial warfare campaign ever.

Exceeding even Iran and North Korea, Russia is now the most sanctioned nation in the world.

“This is financial nuclear war and the largest sanctions event in history,” a former Treasury Department official said.

He went on to say, “Russia went from being part of the global economy to the single largest target of global sanctions and a financial pariah in less than two weeks.”

Here’s a brief rundown of what has happened.

The US and European governments froze Russia’s US dollar and euro reserves—the accumulated savings of the nation—worth around $300 billion.

They kicked Russian banks out of SWIFT, the system for sending international wire transfers.

A stampede of Western companies left Russia and banned average Russian citizens from using their platforms.

Popular cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase blocked over 25,000 accounts linked to Russia.

Visa, MasterCard, and American Express have removed Russia from their networks.

These are just a few examples of how NATO & Friends cut Russia off from the US-dominated global financial system.

While BRICS+ countries are trying to build a parallel international financial system, it is not yet ready for prime time.

In financial warfare, NATO & Friends have a clear advantage today, though BRICS+ is eroding it.

Result: Advantage NATO & Friends

Domain #2: Economic Warfare

Countries can engage in economic warfare by controlling access to strategic commodities like oil, gas, rare earth elements (REEs), and major trade routes. A country can exert economic pressure on others by limiting access to these resources or influencing their prices.

BRICS+ dominates strategic commodities.

Take Russia, for example.

Politicians and the media in the US often ridicule Russia as nothing more than “a gas station with nuclear weapons,” an inaccurate cartoonish depiction.

Russia is the world’s largest exporter of natural gas, lumber, wheat, fertilizer, and palladium (a crucial car component).

It is the second-largest exporter of oil and aluminum and the third-largest exporter of nickel and coal.

Russia is a major producer and processor of uranium for nuclear power plants. Enriched uranium from Russia and its allies provides electricity to 20% of the homes in the US.

Aside from China, Russia produces more gold than any other country, accounting for more than 10% of global production.

These are just a handful of examples. There are many strategic commodities that Russia dominates.

In short, Russia is not just an oil and gas powerhouse but a commodity powerhouse.

Then there are REEs.

Many are unfamiliar with REEs, a collection of 17 obscure elements on the Periodic Table, despite their indispensable role in modern life.

In short, the US military and American consumers depend entirely on these obscure elements.

China controls around 60% of REE production and 95% of REE processing. Beijing also consumes about 67% of the worldwide REE supply.

Nobody can seriously challenge China’s REE monopoly, as it can maintain lower prices longer than any competitor can remain solvent.

Then there is Iran, which dominates the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most crucial energy corridor.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, each day, more than 40% of global oil exports (around 21 million barrels) transit the Strait.

Thanks to its commanding geography and expertise in unconventional and asymmetric warfare, Iran can shut down the Strait, and there’s not much anyone can do about it.

The idea is to level the playing field against a superior enemy with swarms of explosive-laden suicide speedboats, low-flying planes carrying anti-ship missiles, naval mines, and land-based anti-ship ballistic missiles, among other low-cost but highly effective measures.

Analysts believe it would take weeks for the US military to reopen it, but nobody knows if they would succeed.

Military strategists have known about this situation for decades. But no one has found a realistic way to neutralize Iran’s power over the Strait. It’s Iran’s geopolitical trump card.

In the Red Sea, Iran’s allies in the Houthi movement in Yemen have recently shut down shipping in this vital economic corridor to all Israeli, American, and British vessels.

When you put it all together, BRICS+ has the edge in economic warfare.

Result: Advantage BRICS +

Domain #3: Cyber Warfare

Cyber warfare refers to the use of digital attacks by one nation to disrupt the computer systems of another, often aiming to cause damage, disruption, or fear.

These attacks can target various sectors, including government networks, financial systems, and utility services like electricity and water supply. For example, a successful cyber attack on a power grid could leave millions without electricity or clean water.

Attacking a nation’s financial infrastructure, like banks or stock exchanges, through cyber means is another form of cyber warfare. Such attacks can disrupt economic stability, create uncertainty, and potentially lead to significant financial losses.

The goals of cyber warfare can vary from stealing sensitive information, causing economic damage, disrupting essential services, or creating chaos and panic among the population.

Cyber warfare can be just as damaging as traditional warfare but is often cheaper, less risky, and can be conducted anonymously and remotely. This makes it an attractive option for nations wanting to cause harm while minimizing the risk of direct confrontation.

I expect cyber warfare to be prominent as World War 3 evolves.

NATO & Friends and BRICS+ are skilled at cyber warfare. However, I don’t see either side having a decisive advantage.

Result: Uncertain

Domain #4: Information Warfare

Information warfare encompasses a range of tactics aimed at influencing, disrupting, or corrupting the information landscape to affect an adversary’s decision-making process, undermine trust in institutions, or sway public opinion. It aims to influence outcomes both on the battlefield and in public opinion.

This type of warfare leverages the spread of false and misleading narratives, propaganda, and psychological operations to create confusion, sow discord, and manipulate perceptions.

Information warfare can influence elections, shape public opinion on critical issues, and even incite violence or social unrest. The objective is often to destabilize an opponent from within.

With the growing reliance on social media and other digital platforms, the role of information warfare is likely to become even more significant in shaping both military and geopolitical landscapes.

The US has enormous influence over the global mainstream media, entertainment industry, and Big Tech platforms. That gives it widespread worldwide reach in a way that Russia and China do not have.

As a result, NATO & Friends have the advantage in information warfare.

Result: Advantage NATO & Friends

Domain #5: Deniable Sabotage

Sabotage refers to deliberately damaging, destroying, or hindering vital property.

Deniable sabotage is a hostile action carried out so that the perpetrator cannot be conclusively identified or linked to the attack. The identity of the aggressor remains hidden, or there is plausible deniability.

It means that although there might be suspicions or even circumstantial evidence about who is responsible for an attack, there is no concrete proof. As a result, the alleged perpetrator can credibly deny involvement.

Typical targets for sabotage include infrastructure like bridges and railways, communication systems, supply depots, ammunition stores, and essential utilities like power and water supply systems.

The destruction of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline and the cutting of undersea fiber optic cables around Norway are likely examples of recent deniable sabotage.

NATO & Friends and BRICS+ are skilled at deniable sabotage. However, I don’t see either side having a decisive advantage.

Result: Uncertain

Domain #6: Biological Warfare

Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi to incapacitate or kill humans, animals, or plants.

The disease-causing agents can be spread through air, water, or food sources and are often difficult to trace.

The use of biological weapons dates back centuries. In medieval times, besieging armies would catapult diseased corpses over city walls.

Today, the US, China, and Russia have all signed the Biological Weapons Convention, which is supposed to prohibit biological warfare. However, I don’t expect that will prevent biological warfare as World War 3 escalates.

The Covid hysteria could have been due to an act of biological warfare.

In any case, the US, Russia, and China all maintain robust and secretive biological weapons programs. However, I don’t see any side having a decisive advantage.

Result: Uncertain

Domain #7: Proxy Warfare

Proxy wars are a method by which major powers fight their battles indirectly, using smaller nations or groups as stand-ins rather than confronting each other directly.

Major powers support, equip, and finance smaller groups or nations in a proxy war to fight against a common adversary. This support can include military training, weapons, funding, and other resources. The critical point is that the major powers do not engage directly in combat.

I expect proxy wars will be a decisive factor in who will win World War 3.

There are numerous ongoing proxy wars. However, there are three that I believe will be key in determining which side has the overall advantage.

Proxy War #1: Ukraine

Ukraine has been the arena of choice for NATO & Friends to confront Russia.

As I write this, at the beginning of 2024, the conflict in Ukraine appears to be winding down.

Ukraine has suffered serious battlefield setbacks as its much-touted 2023 counteroffensive has utterly failed.

Further weapons shipments from NATO nations are not going to deliver victory to Ukraine. At best, it will only prolong the conflict without changing the ultimate outcome while depleting NATO inventories.

US funding is also drying up. American and European voters are growing increasingly tired of the war.

When you put it all together, I suspect we will see serious movement toward a settlement this year that will largely be favorable to Russia.

Result: Advantage BRICS +

Proxy War #2: The Middle East

The Middle East is on the precipice of the biggest regional war in over 50 years.

The region is roughly divided into two different geopolitical groups.

The first is the US and its allies—Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and others.

The second group describes itself as the Axis of Resistance. It consists of Iran, Syria, the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, several Palestinian groups, including Hamas, and an assortment of militias in Iraq. Russia and China are standing behind the Axis of Resistance.

In the context of World War 3 and the global geopolitical situation, the US and its allies represent the interests of NATO & Friends, and the Axis of Resistance represents BRICS+.

If there is a regional war in the Middle East, it will undoubtedly be between these two groups.

Short of a regional war, there will likely be continued geopolitical competition and low-intensity conflict in the Middle East.

When you take a step back and put it all together, it seems clear that the geopolitical momentum is with the Axis of Resistance in the Middle East.

However, a large regional war could turn things around for the US, Israel, and its allies. NATO & Friends might try a full-scale war with Iran as a last-ditch attempt to scuttle the emergence of a multipolar world order.

It’s also more likely, though, that a full-scale war with Iran and the Axis of Resistance would end in disaster for the US and its allies. That’s probably a big reason it hasn’t happened yet, despite no shortage of hostile intentions.

In the meantime, the advantage in the Middle East goes to BRICS+.

Result: Advantage BRICS +

Proxy War #3: Taiwan

China views Taiwan as a breakaway province and has vowed to reunify it with the mainland by force if necessary.

Recently, Xi privately warned Biden that China will reunify Taiwan but that the timing has not yet been decided.

While not explicitly committing to Taiwan’s defense, the US has been a significant supplier of military equipment to Taiwan. A Chinese invasion could trigger a response from the US, though the extent and nature of this response are uncertain.

China has one of the world’s largest and increasingly modern militaries. Taiwan has a well-trained military, though smaller and less equipped than China’s.

It seems to me that time is on China’s side. All Beijing has to do is wait; eventually, it will be able to compel Taiwan to reunify peacefully.

In the case of a military conflict, it seems to me China has the advantage. The only way Taiwan would have a prayer is if the US directly joined the conflict. However, the US is unlikely to risk a full-scale war with China because of MAD.

When you put it all together, it seems China has the advantage.

Result: Advantage BRICS+

There will likely be other proxy wars as World War 3 progresses, but the ones I believe will prove decisive will be in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Taiwan. The other proxy wars are peripheral in comparison.

All three decisive proxy wars are trending toward a defeat for NATO & Friends. Therefore, the advantage in the overall proxy war domain—which I believe will be the most decisive domain in World War 3—is with BRICS+.

Result: Advantage BRICS+

*  *  *

Did you know there’s an excellent chance a historical crisis is coming soon? Fortunately, it doesn’t have to blindside you, your family, or your portfolio. Quite the contrary. That’s exactly why I just released an urgent new report with all the details, including what you must do to prepare. Click here to download the PDF now.

Illinois is being sued over its failure to clean up the state’s voter rolls and produce election-related records as required under federal law.

Legal watchdog organization Judicial Watch announced on Wednesday that they want Illinois to “develop and implement a general program that makes a reasonable effort to remove the registrations of ineligible registrants from the voter rolls.”

According to JW, the National Voter Registration Act requires states to “conduct a general program that makes a reasonable effort to remove” from the official voter rolls “the names of ineligible voters” who have either died or changed residence – and that registrations must be cancelled when voters fail to respond to address confirmation notices, followed by subsequent no-shows in the next two general elections.

Pas efforts by Judicial Watch have led to the removal of up to four million ineligible voters from rolls in New York, California, Pennsylvania, Colorado, North Carolina and several other states.

Judicial Watch points out:

• Illinois’ own reported data show that more than one fifth of its counties removed few or no registrations under a crucial NVRA provision concerning voters who have moved.
• Illinois informed the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) that 34 counties simply failed to report any data about removals under that key NVRA provision
• Nineteen of these counties also failed to report any data regarding registrations removed because of the death of the voter.
• Dozens of other counties failed to report other kinds of important NVRA data to the EAC.

Further (via Judicial Watch):

Counties typically do not ignore their reporting obligations to the EAC where the data is favorable to them. Rather, this failure suggests non-compliance with the NVRA. In all, 66 of Illinois’ 108 jurisdictions – or 60% of them – either reported fewer unusually low NVRA removals or failed to report a crucial data category to the EAC. These jurisdictions contain a total of 5.8 million registered voters, or about two thirds of Illinois’ 8.8 million registered voters.

In its complaint, Judicial Watch references a Notice Letter sent in November 2023 to Matthews before filing suit. This letter recounted these failures, and also observed that recent census estimates of citizens over the age of eighteen “suggests that 15 Illinois jurisdictions have more voter registrations than citizens of voting age.”

“Illinois’ voting rolls are a mess. Dirty voter rolls can mean dirty elections,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Illinois should take immediate steps to clean its rolls to both prevent fraud and increase voter confidence in the elections.”

Judicial Watch is a national leader in voting integrity and voting rights. As part of its work, Judicial Watch assembled a team of highly experienced voting rights attorneys who stopped discriminatory elections in Hawaii, and cleaned up voter rolls in across the country, among other achievements.

By Adam Andrzejewski of OpenTheBooks.com

Topline

 $175,300,000,000,000 is the most important financial number in the world.

The new Financial Report of the United States Government (February 2024) estimates that the financial position of Social Security and Medicare are under funded by that much. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin signed the report.

The amount is unfathomable. Here are two examples for context: 

• The gross domestic product of every country on planet earth was only $104.5 trillion last year.
• $175.3 trillion is nearly as much as our federal government has spent on everything since the Constitution was written in 1787, even adjusted for inflation.

The Federal Government has been paralyzed. The last reform worthy of the name was 41 years ago next month.

So, Medicare is forecasted to start cutting benefits in just seven years. Social Security’s trust funds start running out of money in ten years. The funds are projected for depletion by 2041.

In 2013, then-U.S. Senator, the late Dr. Tom Coburn, warned that Congress was “drunk on spending.” Coburn highlighted the federal unfunded liabilities, which then were $128 trillion. Today, just ten years later, the financial picture is considerably  worse – up nearly $50 trillion, or 39 percent!

Because of the size of the deficit, there is no clear path towards obtaining the funding needed. that means radical changes could be coming to two of the nation’s most fundamental services.

75-year Projections

The Treasury estimates that the U.S. will spend $215.7 trillion in the next 75 years to give Social Security and Medicare payouts to beneficiaries. In that period, collections – mostly through payroll taxes – are estimated at only $137.4 trillion.

The $78.3 trillion funding gap? According to the Yellin Report, it can only be generated through  increased borrowing, higher taxes, reduced benefits, or some combination of these. All options are politically toxic, which is why Congress is hiding, hoping the problem will go away. And why no one in Washington DC wants to talk about the Yellin Report.

For example, more than half of the unfunded liability comes from Part B of Medicare, which covers “basic healthcare services” like doctor’s visits and equipment such as wheelchairs.

The “Infinite Horizon” Projection

It gets worse: the Yellin Report honestly tells us that the 75-year projection underestimates just how much extra cash is needed because that period does not include the years when most Social Security and Medicare dollars will be paid out.

Think about it. A child born today will pay massivef taxes into Medicare and Social Security over the next 75 years. But the government will not have to send that person benefit checks until they are 62 years old, meaning the majority of payouts will occur more than 75 years from now.

Since this “infinite horizon” model covers an individual’s entire life, this model exposes even more funding gaps.

The Treasury estimates that current participants will use $105.4 trillion more from Medicare and Social Security than those same people pay into the programs through taxes.

“Future” participants, who are now younger than fifteen or even still in the womb, will use $69.9 trillion more than they contribute.

Combined, that is an absurd $175.3 trillion gap that Congress has been ignoring.

Here are how the unfunded liabilities break out by program:

• Medicare Part A, which covers hospital visits, is projected to have $15.1 trillion more than it needs.
• Medicare Part B is the largest liability with an unfunded $99.5 trillion.
• Medicare Part D, for prescription drugs, will be missing $22.1 trillion.
• Social Security needs an additional $68.8 trillion.

Background

Medicare and Social Security are supposed to be self-sustaining. We fund them in three ways: payroll taxes, premium payments on Medicare plans, and taxes on large Social Security payouts.

From inception to the 1970s, the program ran like it was intended. Revenues fully covered the cost of the programs – and then some. But President Ronald Reagan and Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, in the 1980s, saw the imbalances coming.

A bi-partisan commission was established, which built a set of real reforms, which passed Congress and the President signed into law. The Social Security Reform Act of 1983 made “comprehensive changes in… coverage, financing, and benefit structure,” according to the Treasury.

However, even then, all experts knew another round of reforms would be necessary.

But the leadership we saw in the 1980s simply has not returned, and the crisis has grown. Medicare spent $446 billion more than it collected and Social Security was upside-down $88.8 billion last year (2023).

Spending will only increase. Medicare  equaled 2.9% of the nation’s GDP in 2022, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates it will be 5.9% by 2052. Social Security will rise to 6.4% from 4.9%.

U.S. law sets a flat rate of money that the government must provide for Social Security and Medicare each year. It requires the Treasury to borrow money if there is not enough available. That provision alone could cause issues in the not-so-distant future.

Some Reasonable Bipartisan Reforms

Here are some reasonable reforms that statesmen in both parties could embrace:

1. Mistaken and improper payments: Each year Medicare and Medicaid admit to approximately $130 to $140 billion in mistakes – payments in the wrong amount, to the wrong person, or under the wrong set of rules. Overall, the Biden Administration is on track to misallocate nearly $1 trillion in admitted mistakes across the twenty largest federal programs during his four-year term. Fix it!
2. Fix Immigration: Eight million illegal entrants crashed our borders during the previous three years, and no one knows if each migrant is a lifetime net cost or benefit to our system. America needs an ordered immigration system where we welcome smart, hardworking, entrepreneurial, and legal immigrants – to spur economic growth and spread our debts.
3. Grandfather benefits and then cap them for everyone else. If you are paying taxes into the system, you are in. Everyone else coming down the pike gets a different plan.

Together, we can make the system sustainable and give our children and grandchildren a proper soft social safety net for their retirement years.

Additional Reading

• Medicare And Social Security Face $175 Trillion Shortfall Risking Future Generations | The National Desk, Sinclair Broadcast interview | March 1, 2024
• Medicare And Social Security Are Both In Crisis As Underfunding Hits $175 TRILLION | The Daily Mail | March 2, 2024
• Our National Debt Is Our Biggest National Security Threat | by Adam Andrzejewski | OpenTheBooks.Substack | August 23, 2023
• Federal Agencies Admit To $3 Trillion In Improper Payments Since 2004 | by Adam Andrzejewski | OpenTheBooks.Substack | June 13, 2023
• U.S. Debt Clock | usdebtclock.org

Bonds, big-tech, bitcoin, and bullion all rallied today as the dollar dived after disappointing jobs data and a no-less-hawkish Fed Chair Powell.

ADP and JOLTS both printed weaker than expected and the Beige Book signaled weakness for the consumer…

Source: Bloomberg

A new record high for spot gold prices…

Source: Bloomberg

As the dollar dived on a small rise in rate-cut expectations…

Source: Bloomberg

All the US Majors managed gains on the day but were well off the highs with The Dow lagging and Nasdaq and Small Caps leading…

Mag7 Stocks gave back their early day gains following a similar pattern to yesterday…

Source: Bloomberg

Bonds were mixed with the short-end lagging as the long-end saw yields 5-6bps lower on the day. On the week, 2Y remains the only segment higher in yield..

Source: Bloomberg

The 10Y yield hit a one-month low today…

Source: Bloomberg

Which has flattened the yield curve further…

Source: Bloomberg

After yesterday’s insane day in crypto, Bitcoin recovered a lot of its crash-from-record-high losses, back above $67,000…

Source: Bloomberg

Which should not be total surprise given yesterday saw MASSIVE net inflows into BTC ETFs…

Source: Bloomberg

not only are they HODLers they are rabid BTDFers https://t.co/ETIyYajyoi

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 6, 2024

Ethereum did even better, taking out yesterday’s high to trade above $3900…

Source: Bloomberg

Oil price ended higher but not before a good pump and dump intraday that lifted WTI above $80.50…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, New York Community Bancorp was a total shitshow and deserves a section of its own. From $3.20 close to $1.70 lows… then Mnuchin and his hot wife stepped in at $2 and the stock ripped up to $4.40… only to sink back basically to unchanged…

Source: Bloomberg

What are the odds that a billion will solve their problem? Options traders dumped their puts on the news (and some calls were bought), but…

Source: SpotGamma

NYCB share price did not extend gains on the news or the cover? We’re gonna need a bigger boat.