McNamara, the man who helped launch the Vietnam War: it is inconceivable that anyone even remotely familiar with our society and system of government could suspect the existence of a conspiracy. @DrMarkThornton reviews Mearsheimer's *Why Do Politicians Lie?* #MinorIssues
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Jun 15
The percentage of Americans who believe that everything politicians say is a conspiracy against the public is quickly rising. Even in utilitarian terms, @DrMarkThornton says, that trend can be seen as a good thing. @MearsheimerJ's framework, applied to today. #MinorIssues
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Jun 13
Mearsheimer catalogs the lies: Iraq's WMDs, the 1948 Palestinian expulsion, the Gulf of Tonkin. @DrMarkThornton adds one @MearsheimerJ missed: the constitutional convention itself was sold on fabricated crises—tariff problems and instabilities that weren't true. #MinorIssues
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623
Jun 8
Imagine the economy as a wagon. Taxpayers pull it. Tax consumers sit in it. As taxation grows, more people stop pulling and climb aboard. The wagon gets heavier and travels slower—until there aren't enough pullers left to move it at all. @DrMarkThornton #MinorIssues
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Jun 6
A government bureaucrat earns $100,000 and pays $20,000 in taxes. That's not a taxpayer—that's a tax consumer of $80,000. Every government employee at that level requires four equivalent private-sector workers to fund. @DrMarkThornton #MinorIssues
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5,482
May 30
Adam Smith described the pin factory but never mentioned who decided how many workers to hire, which tasks to divide, or who funded the operation. The entrepreneur is completely absent. Rothbard put him back. @DrMarkThornton on what Smith left out. #MinorIssues
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794
May 25
57% of Americans surveyed brought up high prices on their own without being asked. Gas is $4.55 nationally, over $6 in California. Meanwhile, energy profits are up 61% on the war. The working class pays the cost. The asset class collects the return. @DrMarkThornton #MinorIssues
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943
May 23
Consumer sentiment just hit an all-time record low: 44.8. In the same quarter, 83% of S&P 500 companies beat earnings expectations. One economy for people who own assets. Another for everyone else. @DrMarkThornton explains the K that @Mises predicted 120 years ago. #MinorIssues
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532
May 9
When you shut down an oil well, you never know what you get when you restart it. Some won't come back. The fertilizer disruption will hit the next crop season. And the Gulf states that propped up the petrodollar are rethinking the deal. @DrMarkThornton #MinorIssues
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601
May 4
The oil industry has been deferring sustaining capital investment at a rate of $1 billion per day. @RealRickRule: the commodity price explosion was coming regardless of Hormuz; the war just sped up the inevitable. @DrMarkThornton @MoneyLevelsShow #MinorIssues
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7,539
May 2
Total private net worth of all Americans: $170 trillion. Total government liabilities, on and off the books: $160 trillion. @RealRickRule: the only way out is a "dishonest default," inflating away the debt, just like the '70s. With @DrMarkThornton @MoneyLevelsShow. #MinorIssues
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8,218
Apr 25
War in the Persian Gulf doesn’t just mean pricier gas. It can snap hidden supply chains that keep modern life running, from fertilizer and copper to plumbing repairs. @DrMarkThornton #MinorIssues
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Apr 23
Central banks are buying gold because they no longer trust other central banks. That single fact tells you more about where the global financial system is heading than any Fed press conference. @DrMarkThornton on the signal hiding in plain sight. #MinorIssues
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Apr 18
The Venezuelan stock market looked incredible . . . if you only read the chart. It was all driven by inflation. @DrMarkThornton says the same dynamic is building here: a synthetic boom where the pain hasn't been removed, just pushed further down the road. #MinorIssues
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470
Apr 11
Everyone expected the Iran war to send gold soaring. Instead, gold and silver have been falling. @DrMarkThornton explains the hidden mechanism: war spikes oil → oil spikes CPI → the Fed cancels rate cuts → and that crushes precious metals. #MinorIssues
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Mar 28
On the latest #MinorIssues, @DrMarkThornton discusses the recent whiplash in precious metals. What will central banks do next?
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581
Mar 21
Two interviews, two timelines: before and after the Middle East war. @DrMarkThornton explains what the conflict means for oil, inflation, and why gold and silver still signal deeper trouble ahead. #MinorIssues
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442
Mar 14
The “bottom 99%” aren’t losing to markets: they’re losing to the Cantillon effect. @DrMarkThornton #MinorIssues
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3,956
Mar 7
Iran escalation, fragile debt markets, and gold flashing warning signs. @DrMarkThornton explains why this bubble won’t end gently. #MinorIssues
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