I read the Wall Street Journal every day. I used to read the physical paper – the fold, the ink, the routine – but now I just ctrl-click every article and read them on my screen. I miss the nostalgia of paper, but it didn’t take long to adjust to typing a crossword and reading digitally. I don’t even mind paying $50 a month to support the people behind the work. Supporting work is important if you enjoy the product.
Keeping up with the world daily keeps you sharp. Trends come and go, so it’s important not to take every article as gospel for the future. Still, I think the best way to go through life is to digest the information, retain what matters, and act when the time feels right – when you’ve gathered enough insight to make an informed decision.
Here are a few topics that appear all the time that I’ll give you my threat level.
EV Car Sales Decline & Climate Change – 3/10
Last year a study put paid to magical thinking. Of 1,500 climate policies adopted in 41 countries over two decades, less than 5% have resulted in any reduction of emissions.
I’m not sure why the chart says 2030 up top and then 2025 on the bottom. Noticeable is USA & China growing in gas powered and a big decline in EV for the USA. Let’s be honest, we are the only country that matters. Just a joke…
As a human with a gas powered car, and knowing nothing about how emissions affect the environment, when considering the inconvenience of time to charge vs filling up a tank, I don’t have a lot of incentive to change. Hilariously, I read an article in 2022 saying EV adoption was accelerating. Also adding I recently read another article saying how scientists are incentivized to create climate catastrophes to make certain they get funded. Only a dolt would think pure nature is worse than pollution, so I’m all for a green-centric universe, I’m only not sure where you draw that line with innovation on Earth to being a caveman spearing fish. Is there a balance?
Palestine & Israel – 6/10
With the big peace deal Trump provoked I read today that there is going to be infighting between Hamas and Fatah for Palestinian power. Even with the Israelis out Hamas is still ready to fight. I’m sensing a theme. Which is why it’s odd to me the antisemitism from people within the USA. Are you supporting Palestine because 67,000 people were killed in the war Hamas re-started 2 years ago by slaughtering 1,200 Jews…Concerning a century old conflict that begins with the following fact – Groups advocating for Israel’s elimination: Some militant and rejectionist groups, most notably Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, explicitly oppose the existence of Israel as a state and call for its destruction. So, when I think about an Israel state in the middle of the…east…surrounding by groups who don’t think they should exist, I don’t understand the disdain, especially from Americans. The 67k are all civilians! Genocide! Please. I promise you I don’t support Hamas, which I suppose most of the people who “free Palestine”, do?
The slogan “Free Palestine” is widely used by activists and carries different meanings depending on who is using it. For many, it is a call for Palestinian liberation, freedom, and human rights, but critics view it as a call for the destruction of Israel and antisemitic.
RFK – 5/10
A spokesman for HHS said the agency will ensure that policy set by the vaccine-advisory panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, “is based on rigorous evidence and Gold Standard Science, not the failed politics of the pandemic.” He added that past government initiatives had changed Americans’ perspective on public health. “Democrat-run states that pushed unscientific school lockdowns, toddler mask mandates, and draconian vaccine passports during the COVID era completely eroded the American people’s trust in public health agencies,” the spokesman said.
I never understand how people with glaring contradictions end up as health spokespeople. When an obese person is Surgeon General. When an alcoholic leads an AA meeting. When someone with a raspy voice tells you how to live clean. It just doesn’t add up.
I’ll be the first to say the COVID era felt absurd. The speed, the messaging, the politics – none of it inspired confidence. In the fake slate industry, we joke about the same thing when comparing vaccines: how can you sell a 30-year warranty when your product has only been on roofs for two? Being time tested matters. I would love to hear how the unvaccinated are doing 5 years later?
Tons of news is coming out on vaccines creating autism. I don’t trust government data. Lord knows where RFK’s comes from. Yet it’s not different when democrats loved when the data was on their side saying everyone needs Covid vaccines. Now they hate it when different data suggest vaccines create autism. People love to love what they are told to love. I trust RFK as far as I can throw a golf ball down a straight cart path Tin Cup style. These government agencies who wipe the other side out (Democrats are creating their own agencies now) is a bad look all around.
Prices – 8/10
This is a serious issue that too many people are glossing over. Millions simply cannot afford to live. Car payments are behind. Mortgage payments are probably even further behind. Credit card debt is at an all-time high. Student debt is crushing. I wish I could cite every stat, but even if the data said it wasn’t bad, it would feel wrong to anyone living it.
Prices keep rising – thanks to tariffs, supply chain pressures, and labor shortages. The stock market is inflated at levels we haven’t seen in decades, fueled by the AI craze. Meanwhile, capital funds hold the majority of wealth. Everyone knows Shaq made his money in college.
When reports start showing cracks and holes, people are going to lose massive amounts of equity. That may finally force policies to even out pricing. Until then, I predict some choppy waters ahead.
Tricolor 8/10
Tricolor – Subprime auto lender Tricolor Holdings filed for bankruptcy, triggering a $170 million loss for JPMorgan Chase and a Justice Department probe into alleged double-pledged collateral. Despite numerous regulatory violations and risky loans, Tricolor gained credibility from its federal CDFI designation, attracting major investors like BlackRock and PIMCO. The collapse shows how government-backed labels can mask financial hazards and fuel reckless investing.
To piggyback on that last point, these kinds of operations are going to start going belly-up all over the place. You can already see it: the government is getting behind companies like Intel and Nvidia, taking a piece of their action. And let’s be honest—the government is good at exactly one thing: taking and spending our money…yet terrible at doing it responsibly.
We’re going to see more of these situations pop up as the banking environment tightens. Get ready for a tumble. The government and large funds are tangled together in weak, overleveraged investments – exactly the kind they specialize in: take from you, squander what’s taken, then act surprised when it collapses. The cracks are already forming, and when they show, they’ll show fast.
Recent Comments