27.   When Dementia Replaces Meritocracy – Pray this is the turning point

An ancient Chinese saying starts with “After a time of decay comes the turning point.” 

In my 72 years I have seen the United States experience growth and decline.  Never in my 72 years have I seen the United States “decay” as I have witnessed with the combination of Obama and Biden.  Organizations experience both growth and decline in a curvilinear trend line.  Currently the rate of decline in the United States is accelerating.

When Biden was installed as President, he inherited an economy growing at 6+% annually, inflation below 2%, real wages (after deducting inflation) were increasing, gasoline was $2.00 per gallon, food was affordable, our military was stronger than it was at the end of Obama reign, and illegal immigration was being controlled.  Trump had filled the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to get the USA prepared for a future emergency.

Eighteen months of Biden and the Democrats has brought us a RECESSION )Per Atlanta Fed, inflation is officially 8.6%,  gasoline is $4.75 per gallon, food is expensive so consumers are reducing spending on other goods and services, our military is in tatters with 25% of their fiscal year to go they are 60% behind enlistments despite reducing all of their standards, wear all black clothing and you can destroy anything but gather wearing red white and blue makes you a terrorist, illegal immigration is …uncontrolled because the border is wide open.  And Biden is selling 25% of the oil in our SPR overseas, not here in the USA.

Organizational Behavior predicts that the values of the person at the top of the organization is replicated downward.  Last week numerous Commonwealth Attorneys in Virginia openly stated their intent to violate their oaths of office over abortion thus joining left-wing nuts in California, etc. and the Department of Justice that refuse to uphold the law.  If they want to support the killing of babies, why don’t they resign their public office and become defense attorneys? 

Remember the PhD economists that forecasted in January that mortgage rates in 2022 would not exceed 3.75%?  Holders of impressive economic degrees from name plate universities think that the government can borrow from itself to distribute money and then are surprised when inflation exceeds the highest rate in decades.  To make matters worse, they now demand “price controls” which have only failed as often as socialism and as recently in the USA as Jimmy Carter.  Idiots self-identify by shouting “This time is different”.  Nope.  The mentally ill do stupid quite well.

Germany in 2000 committed to “renewable energy” from wind and solar and shut down nuclear, natural gas, and coal fired electrical generation plants.  At the end of 2021, Germany’s electricity prices were $.31 per kwh while the USA price for electricity was $.11 per kwh.  Germany has proven wind and solar are unreliable and horribly expensive. Only those who self-identify as delusional think renewable electricity is better than natural gas and nuclear. 

Last week there was some good news:

1. Some Texas Sheriffs are personally “deporting” the illegals they capture. 
2. The term “Racist” has been so overused by the Democrats that it is now meaningless.
3.  The U. S. Supreme Court proved an island of adult thought in a swirling maelstrom of utter chaos created by an administration of inept and mentally ill folks.  Their Ruling against the EPA was a landmark decision requiring Congress to pass laws rather than letting federal agencies create them.  Hooray for the Constitution!  This EPA ruling could have a very positive impact on landowners as well as provide immense relief to our struggling economy from the Climate Change Delusionists. 

If you want the facts about Climate Change, I suggest you read the following books:

1. “Unsettled” by Steven E. Koonin, former Undersecretary for Science, U. S. Department of Energy in the Obama Administration.  I found this to be a great read that provided facts not biased opinion.
2. “Fossil Future” by Alex Epstein – I am reading this book now.  It is full of facts.

Here is another glimpse of the real world:

1. FACT – Virginia elected a business head as governor in 2021 because a group of Virginia techies volunteered their time to figure out the fraudulent methods use in 2020 in Virginia.  As a result, over 300,000 nonexistent “voters” were eliminated from the voter rolls in August of 2021 and thus those “votes” could not miraculously appear in November of 2021 as they did in November of 2020.  Extend that nationally, 300,000 x 50 states = 15 million potential fraudulent votes?
2. FACT – According to Shadow Stats, the real rate of inflation is the USA is not 8.6 % but is in excess of 16 %.  Interestingly, the WSJ before July 4 stated that the cost of a July 4 picnic is 17% higher in 2022 than 2021.
3. “Top Gun: Maverick” has generated at least 10 times the revenue of Disney’s recent woke film and Disney’s stock price has halved.  Go Woke, Go Broke is REAL. Hooray!

In a grand experiment, The Fed is full of Hope for a soft landing from raising short term interest rates (the Federal Funds Rate) this year to about 4.0% to reduce demand hoping bond investors will lend money to the government at rates below inflation because The Fed is telling them the rate of inflation will be 4% by the end of 2022.  Demand is shifting as American consumers focus their spending on the necessities such as food and gas. 

The statistics from the new housing industry reflect the impact of both the dramatically doubling of 30-year fixed mortgage rates and the lack of residential lots. The shortage of residential lots is causing lot prices that take your breath away.  Facing slower traffic and bankers who are demanding more capital in deals because of pressure they are getting from the Federal bank regulators, the new housing market is trying to continue their sales pace by using creative mortgages.  Fact: the new housing industry will slow and thus worsen the current recession identified by the Atlanta Fed last week.

Chinese Premier Xi realizes his economy is collapsing so he has loosened restrictions the tech industry, but the damage is done, and those private companies are reducing head count.  The privately owned real estate development companies are teetering.  When the collapse comes my guess is that American banks and investment houses such as Blackrock will be impacted, and the ripple effects will course through China but also America.  Global Recession? 

Unfortunately, I believe the following brackets what will evolve over the next 12 months:

1. The Fed will raise the Federal Funds Rate to 4% by December 2022 without slowing inflation so the Fed will have to continue raising rates, the 10 Year Treasuries will hit 8.5 % putting mortgages at 9% and we will be in a serious recession with collapsing real estate values.
2. The Fed will raise the Federal Funds Rate to 4% by December 2022 without slowing inflation but will declare a pause to fight the recession because of their fear of a real estate collapse.  Stagflation will persist until one year after Biden is replaced by a business head.

Please pray:

1. That God exercises his control over our government at all levels.
2. For the “Forgotten 599” surviving Americans being held as political prisoners by Biden and the Demented Marxists in hell hole conditions in the DC Gulag.  
3. For honest elections because without them we are not free.
4. For the valiant Ukrainians.

Let’s Go Brandon!

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns or figs from thistles?”

(Matthew 7:15-16)   New Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press)

Stay healthy,

Ned 

July 6, 2022        

Copyright Massie Land Network.  All rights Reserved.