“With inflation rising more than incomes, many Americans have suffered a loss of purchasing power even though their nominal income increased. The erosion of Americans’ purchasing power has led to a debt-based economy. This has created a number of bubbles that likely will soon burst. According to an analysis of Federal Reserve data by economist Mike Shedlock, total car, credit card, and student loan debts are now higher, measured in real dollars, than nearly 20 years ago during the Great Recession. Of course, the greatest debtor is the US government. The Federal Reserve’s practice of buying government debt in order to pump more money into the economy enables maintaining the largest government in history.” (06/01/26)
“When the Commerce Department released April data on consumption, the uptick in reported inflation got most of the attention. While that is big news, there were several other items that were noteworthy. First, consumption growth was very weak in April, increasing by just 0.1%. That is not necessarily a big deal since it followed two months of rapid growth, and the falloff was mostly attributable to a drop in car purchases after two months of large purchases. Still, consumption is most of the economy, and if it’s not growing at a decent pace, the economy is not growing at a decent pace. The second point is that fast-food spending is in the doldrums.” (06/01/26)
“Media once played an important role in the management of modern democracies. The Digital Revolution, however, left it divided and confused.” (06/01/26)
“Modernity is a work of intellectual justice. By ‘a work of intellectual justice,’ I mean something more than a search for meaning. Beyond this noble search or quest, which has been symbolized throughout world literature, modernity entails a specifically human response to a kind of plague, in that modern thinkers strive for an interpretation of the world that brings relief from the intellectual burden of living amidst illusions and the constant buzzing of flies. This relief is afforded by the appearance of a unifying point of view that, in comparison with its rivals, is richer in knowledge and experience, more real in its perceptions, and more in touch with the permanent conditions of human life. This gain in perspective cannot be achieved without study of the past.” (06/01/26)
“One morning in Boston in 1895, as K. C. Gillette stood before the mirror, a brilliant idea flashed across his mind. ‘As I stood there with the razor in my hand, my eyes resting on it as lightly as a bird settling down on its nest — the Gillette razor was born. I saw it all in a moment, and in that same moment many unvoiced questions were asked and answered more with the rapidity of a dream than by the slow process of reasoning. I stood there before that mirror in a trance of joy at what I saw.’ He quickly wrote a letter to his wife, ‘I have got it; our fortune is made.’ Simple ideas often appear obvious in retrospect, but simplicity is usually the far edge of genius.” (06/01/26)
“Decline is a choice. President Trump could not have said it better. Two years ago, everyone was talking about the Roman Empire, musing over its tragic decline. Would the United States fade the same way, with relentless clashes among different demographics fighting for a diminishing share of the government pie? Was Pat Buchanan right? The Republic is over, and the days of Empire have hastened the end of this once glorious experiment, he claimed. Historians note that democratic systems don’t last longer than 250 years. Yet the United States will celebrate its semiquincentennial. President Trump will be in office until 2029. Even if a Democrat follows him, the United States will have endured past the expected expiration date.” (06/01/26)
“Because defense contracts often prevent the military from repairing its own equipment, critics say weapons companies are price-gouging the Pentagon at every turn. As experts and observers tell RS, the military’s lack of a ‘right to repair’ doesn’t just allow defense contractors to charge thousands of dollars, for fixes that could be done for free or very cheaply. Rather, the Pentagon’s dependence on weapons makers for maintenance undermines military readiness. Namely, contractors’ extensive repair delays and sweeping decisions about whether to service gear routinely leave warfighters without critical equipment and weapons systems — even while deployed.” (06/01/26)
“Recent reporting from Axios suggests that President Donald Trump is considering a new nuclear deal with Iran as a way to turn the temporary ceasefire into something longer-term and more sustainable. It also suggests that the Iranian regime is interested in playing ball. The reporting is light on details, but suggests that the deal will have the same core ingredients as the one negotiated by President Barack Obama and signed in 2015 that the U.S. later left — some kind of financial/sanctions relief in exchange for verification of promises not to pursue a weapons program.” (06/01/26)
“Over the last twenty years, illiberal forces have coordinated ideas, personnel, and finances across international borders. Liberals can learn from this.” (06/01/26)
