Thank you, Patrick for this surprise piece on Wendy Sherman's visit. There has essentially been a news blackout on the subject. Tass, RT, Global Times, and Consortium have nothing on it. It has occurred to me that after the inestimable Andrei Gromyko died that Russian diplomacy became totally ham handed and ineffective. Roles have reversed. The Russians are now nimble and effective and the US has become ham handed and ineffective.
What comes next? Well it occurs to me that the apparatchiks in Washington will, like any ocean liner, keep going along in the same way. The Chinese will become pissed off enough that they will do something painful like bar exports of rare earths to the US. Or refusing to accept US$ for our Chinese imports. The US may be tempted to conduct some gunboat diplomacy a la that Britain conducted and the Chinese remember well. This would, of course, be a serious mistake but not beyond the realm of the possible.
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows. The thing to remember is that China is rich. Really rich. The US is broke. And getting broker fast. That 5% inflation rate that we've experienced? Don't believe the Fed. It might be temporary but only in the sense of being temporarily that small. That's your first installment on Donnie Murdo's tariffs. It takes a while for things to move through the financial chain. The American public were always going to be paying the tariffs and now that's happening. But wait! There's more! With your Ginzo knives, you also get a $30+T debt! How cool is that?!? Not cool at all, of course. Those of us who remember the '70s remember the stagflation that happened after our profligate spending on Vietnam caught up to us? I do. I bought my second house in 1980. The interest rate on my mortgage was 18%. Ready for that (a $35K house was costing me ~$550/mo)? For me, as Yogi so gloriously said, it's deja vu all over again. The difference is that in 1980 the US debt was $848B in 2021 it's $28,728B and that's before we consider the multi-trillion dollar stimulus packages working their way through Congress now. I've long said the shit was going to hit the fan come this summer. Looks to me like I was right, or close.
Brilliant Brief ... 'read'.
A master piece, Pat.
Cheers,
P.Mahoney,USMC Ret'd.
Anchorage, AK
Patrick. Thanks this comment. Greatly appreciated. And for taking the time to read.
Most people who refer to me as "Pat" come to tragic ends. As you are plainly a man of shared heritage I shall give you a pass (this time!).
🇺🇸 smile.
Outstanding — thank you !!
Thank you, Patrick for this surprise piece on Wendy Sherman's visit. There has essentially been a news blackout on the subject. Tass, RT, Global Times, and Consortium have nothing on it. It has occurred to me that after the inestimable Andrei Gromyko died that Russian diplomacy became totally ham handed and ineffective. Roles have reversed. The Russians are now nimble and effective and the US has become ham handed and ineffective.
What comes next? Well it occurs to me that the apparatchiks in Washington will, like any ocean liner, keep going along in the same way. The Chinese will become pissed off enough that they will do something painful like bar exports of rare earths to the US. Or refusing to accept US$ for our Chinese imports. The US may be tempted to conduct some gunboat diplomacy a la that Britain conducted and the Chinese remember well. This would, of course, be a serious mistake but not beyond the realm of the possible.
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows. The thing to remember is that China is rich. Really rich. The US is broke. And getting broker fast. That 5% inflation rate that we've experienced? Don't believe the Fed. It might be temporary but only in the sense of being temporarily that small. That's your first installment on Donnie Murdo's tariffs. It takes a while for things to move through the financial chain. The American public were always going to be paying the tariffs and now that's happening. But wait! There's more! With your Ginzo knives, you also get a $30+T debt! How cool is that?!? Not cool at all, of course. Those of us who remember the '70s remember the stagflation that happened after our profligate spending on Vietnam caught up to us? I do. I bought my second house in 1980. The interest rate on my mortgage was 18%. Ready for that (a $35K house was costing me ~$550/mo)? For me, as Yogi so gloriously said, it's deja vu all over again. The difference is that in 1980 the US debt was $848B in 2021 it's $28,728B and that's before we consider the multi-trillion dollar stimulus packages working their way through Congress now. I've long said the shit was going to hit the fan come this summer. Looks to me like I was right, or close.