| By Bill Bonner Thursday, July 30, 2020 – Week 20 of the Quarantine SAN MARTIN, ARGENTINA – Reparations for everybody! Last month, readers were shocked when we suggested – mischievously – that reparations for Black people may not be such a bad idea. Today, we give the idea of reparations more of the attention it deserves. Over the last 30 years, the feds have given trillions to the rich – as much as $30 trillion, by our measure. Just over the last four months, artificially low interest rates, bond buying, and Repo Madness have added about $10 trillion in stock market wealth to the richest part of the U.S. population. And the latest figures we have – from colleague David Stockman – show fed policies providing 16 times as much loot to the top 1% of the population as to the bottom 90%. Why not toss a few greasy bones to the poor, too? Besides, what’s funny money for? Why not use it to square up with groups of people who have suffered in life? Why not repair the wrongs of the past and the injustices of the present? Why not level the playing field, give every person an even shot at the goal? Realistic Goal But wait… What goal? Happiness? Should we try to make everyone equally happy? Ah, there is a goal as counterfeit as the money itself; as if happiness could be quantified… and doled out like campaign hats or crystal meth. Perhaps a more realistic goal would be equal wealth. That is a goal more in line with our numbers-obsessed economists… and our simpleton do-gooders. And it’s an ambition that could plausibly be realized – by just reshuffling the money-deck. Blacks, for example, say they have been cheated. White people, they say, were dealing from the bottom of the deck. One Maryland politician even goes so far as to say that Blacks should all be entitled to Social Security and disability payments, regardless of any impairment, real or imagined. Don’t believe me? Here’s the Capital Gazette: Annapolis’ Del. Shaneka Henson… [proposes] making Social Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance available to African Americans regardless of age, disability or impairment, because, she said, “racial discrimination must be acknowledged for what it is – disabling.” Let’s see: Blacks earn less money than white people. They die younger. They go to jail more often. They’re more likely to get COVID. They’re more likely to be murdered. They enjoy fewer happy, stable marriages. We don’t need to ask the source of their impairment. White Privilege? Our colonial/imperial/slavery heritage? Their own choices? Repairing the Damage Fixing blame would be “divisive.” So, let us instead focus on repairing the damage – with fake money, of course. According to the Brookings Institution think tank, the typical Black family has a net worth of $17,000. The typical white family has 10 times as much – $170,000. So the solution is simple – a “reparations” check of $153,000 per Black family. But if we’re going to do this seriously, we should correlate the checks to family wealth. Some would get more. Some would get less. And with about 15 million Black families, that would come with a price tag of around $2.2 trillion. Peanuts! And the problem, if there were one, would be solved. Finally, the taint of white sin would be washed away forever, laundered by the Federal Reserve’s counterfeit money. “Tech Royalties” could be the answer to a fruitful retirement. Righteous Purpose Trouble is, many are those who have crosses to bear.. When the cards are dealt out, some get aces… some get nary a pair of deuces. Some are cripples. Some are half-wits. Some are haunted by a mean parent, a youthful indiscretion, or a childhood humiliation. But since our resources are infinite – thanks to the Fed’s “printing press” – let us, like Simon of Cyrene, take up the burden with a happy heart and righteous purpose… not to mention the self-satisfied air of someone who is generously sharing someone else’s money. So, who’s next in line? Things Get Ugly There’s one group that has gotten an especially unattractive deal: ugly people. Here’s the Daily Mail with the lowdown on “lookism”: Economist Daniel Hamermesh argues that ugliness is no different from race or a disability, and suggests unattractive people deserve legal protection. “My research shows being good-looking helps you earn more money, find a higher-earning spouse and even get better deals on mortgages,” he said. “Logically there’s no less reason to protect the ugly than the disabled, African Americans, other racial minorities or religious minorities, as we do. We could even have affirmative action for the ugly.” According to the above-mentioned Hamermesh, ugly people earn less money than their more attractive colleagues. Yes… well… There are some practical issues here. How do we decide who is ugly and who is not? And some people “lose their looks” as they age; others don’t. And then, how do we know how much compensation is needed to make an ugly person equal to a handsome person? But that may be the least of the disadvantage. When it comes to marriage, too, the mirror-breakers have less choice. And how to price the difference, say, between waking up each morning with a stark-naked Heidi Klum… or with Chief Justice John Roberts in his Supreme Court robe? Recommended Link Is Crypto, Crapto? Or is it your ticket to making $500,000? Teeka Tiwari doesn’t know anyone who hates cryptocurrencies as much as Judge Jeanine Pirro. In her words, “crypto is crapto” and anyone who buys cryptocurrencies is “one card short of a full deck.” Teeka couldn’t disagree more. He believes cryptocurrencies are the new frontier for wealth generation in America. In fact, he believes $7 trillion of new capital is about to enter this market… …an event that will give you the chance to make $500,000 over the next year. The question is, who are you going to believe? Judge Pirro or Teeka? He’ll let you decide — Smart Choice But we’re in world-improvement mode, here. We’re not going to let insurmountable complexities or contradictions stand in our way. And there’s one group with an almost universal experience with disappointment, setbacks, and under-achievement. It fills the prisons… takes on the worst jobs… earns the least money… and is the butt of jokes, harassment, and discrimination. We’re talking, of course, about stupid people. From Business Insider a few years back: Of course, correlation does not prove causation. But IQ is strongly correlated to educational, professional, economic and social success or failure. Who wins spelling bees? Who gets into Harvard? Who goes to work at Goldman Sachs? Who creates a new app… goes to IPO a year later… and ends up a 20-something billionaire? Brainy people. How is that fair? The leg up you get from being smart is so obvious… and so ubiquitous… it needs to be corrected forthwith. How could it possibly be fair for one group who, simply because they are favored by the genetic lottery, get nearly all the best things in life? They know how to program their home heating systems… and they know what the hell Wittgenstein was trying to say before he went mad… and how to organize a Zoom call. The rest of us have no idea. Yes, of course… like everyone else, the dumb ones can work hard and overcome their handicap. They can get advanced degrees or earn a lot of money – proving that they are not as dumb as they seem. Or they can disguise their stupidity by becoming a Federal Reserve governor, bamboozling the public with claptrap ideas, and pretending to be smart. Or, they can take up politics and get elected president (a thick head, like a thick skin, is not just a plus in politics; it’s a job requirement). Heck, they could even be a columnist for The New York Times and win a Nobel Prize. Act Dumb Still, we’re not here to encourage initiative or self-improvement. We’re here to palliate with fake money. And here, too, the disadvantage of dumbness could be treated – but not cured – with printing-press money. Simply give people checks correlated inversely with their I.Q. scores. Of course, this, too, could create some practical challenges. People might deliberately “act stupid” when taking their IQ tests in order to get more money. That is, smart people might try to game the system – the way they always do. The solution? Catch a few of them reading Kant… and hang them in public squares as a warning to the others. But we’re not going to worry too much about the details. Let the smart people figure them out later. We’re on a moral crusade… This is no time for thinking clearly or deeply. We have a lot of other scores to settle! “Pressure Point” Technique Could Double Your Money in 30 Days. Born Unlucky We turn next to a group that has always suffered in silence: mute people. People who cannot speak must suffer terribly. They are surrounded – as we all are – by jackasses with dumbbell ideas. But they can’t even say the “F” word. It must be very frustrating. Still, we’re going to leave them out of our program, simply because we see no easy financial remedy. And with Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok… they have plenty of opportunity to express themselves. But what about people who suffer from the “Birth Order Disadvantage?” From The Huffington Post… “Kids learn their role in their family,” Dr. Kevin Leman, a psychologist and the author of The Birth Order Book and The First-Born Advantage, told The Huffington Post. “Firstborns are held to a higher standard. As kids come into the birth order, parents loosen up.” Related to that is the “Late-in-the-year setback”: Here’s CBC: A 2011 study of B.C. [British Columbia] students who entered kindergarten in 1995 found that compared to those born in January, kids with December birthdays were 12 to 15 per cent less likely to meet reading and numeracy standards in the elementary grades and 12 per cent less likely to graduate. And what about the lefties? Left-handed people are more likely to be alcoholics… more likely to have migraines… and they have to live in a world designed for right-handed people. And how about short people? From theconversation.com: Spurned by women, more likely to end up in jail, doomed to earn less, destined to languish in poorly paid jobs, plagued by feelings of inferiority and coming up short where coming up matters most, you’d think life had dealt the short straw to short men. And maybe it has. Recommended Link The American Mining Boom Inside this map is the largest discovery of lithium in American history. Tesla could be on the verge of signing a billion-dollar deal for this lithium. And one tiny $4 company owns the whole thing — Brave New World But don’t worry, runts… middle children… December babies… lefties – there’s help on the way. Our Reparations-for-Everybody program is sure to be picked up by a major political party. Then, in this brave new world, where every unhappy circumstance and misfortune is set right by fake money… …we will all be equally miserable. Regards, Bill Like what you’re reading? Send your thoughts to feedback@rogueeconomics.com. MAILBAG A dear reader says political debate is a lost cause… People are going crazy. Some of my friends are no longer interested in vigorous debate. They yell over me and I never get my point across… It’s lost, unborn and unheard… unreasoned and killed off in vitriolic belligerence… And these are lifelong friends. The immortal quote of Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill: “Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.” – Justin T. Meanwhile, another dear reader is floored that Bill paid for the repairs for a police truck that collided with one of his bulls back in May… The local police drive into your bull and you have to pay for the damage to their squad car? Did the police claim the bull purposefully rammed their police car? I do not understand why you are liable for their negligence? – Kevin O. Finally, one dear reader offers his own gold story after Wednesday’s Diary, “Is This ‘Peak Gold’?” I purchased gold Krugerrands in 1978 for about $198 per ounce. I sold most of them in January of 1980, the day it moved over $800. I still have these remainders and additional coins, which I bought over time. I sold them Monday after watching a gold expert on the Friday Louis Rukeyser Show indicate that non-pros should get out. It is much easier to buy and sell gold (and everything else) with the internet. I bought the original coins from the First Bank of Chicago. I resold them to the bank after spending much time that day trying to contact them. I find your daily letters entertaining and informative. Keep up the good work. – Allan G. Has your political debate circle shrunk, like Justin’s? What is your gold story? Write us at feedback@rogueeconomics.com. 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and now working on a couple of police explorers as well. Then for good measure I helped my autistic son in learning some basic janitorial services so he can participate at the lodge and earn a few dollars at the same time. A place he now considers his second home and the brothers and daughters of the lodge have accepted him and show him love and care and affection when he is around.
My cousin and his wife whom we lost 2years ago to cancer and now this. Now only to have his father my uncle in hospital at NYPH having triple bypass surgery as I write this which is why I write this to keep calm and not loose it as I wait to hear what is happening with him. So now you have why good times and bad all rolled in to what you call it ? Oh yeah that thing or time of passage LIFE. Live long and prosper all who read this and thank you for letting me share.
and hope to read some interesting comments.
IT is an add on to the special service fleet. Not only has that come in for delivery but I did also finally get the P.O. from another client to order 2 more Ford Police interceptors suv’s 
We have spent time in the park by my house and taken a ride or 2 in the Saab convertible. Surprisingly the car seat fits. no top down just too much sun for her but enjoyed anyway because never been in a convertible before. She has had her moments but quickly learned Grandpa don’t go for temper tantrums they don’t work. 
It has truly been a blast for me and my wife. We take her to her dad on Friday afternoon to spend quality time with him as well. Thinking it will be okay to take her to see Great grand ma but not too sure sent the pictures though. She has been out running around all weekend and got a little home sick last night when she could not have her way but a phone call to mommy calmed her down. She may be a wake now and ready for some more park time we shall see. 
or maybe you know family who remembers when this happened in America it was a time when a company recognized it’s employees and what they mean to the success of the company. 
Maybe there is a car or truck you remember because it is the first one in the family or the business. Maybe it was what turned the business around, 
or maybe you remember that first family car your parents bought or the the first car you ever got or had that first date in?
or that car that would go by and you would say that is sweet wish I had one of those or I am going to get me one. 
You know like the famous cars from tv you thought would be even cooler if you were driving them. 
So here she sits while I come out and do this project then the next. I get started on my most ambitious when a get a letter from the town. Mind you letter received on Friday the 11th demanding action by the today to either remove the vehicle from the premises or re-register and insure the vehicle by end of day today. If not pay town 1000 A DAY until complied with. 
or like this old gem still holding on and running, but not looking it’s best right now.
So I guess now you have the idea Looking forward to seeing what pictures i get back in response or little stories and I will up date as well. Good hunting and remember these Classics and daily drivers are
Insite of a Commercial Sales and Fleet Manager in NYC TRI-STATE AREA 
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