BunkerLINKS - #4 - May 31, 2025
Low agency people are the worst.
Somewhere in a bunker in the Midwest, a man consumes mass quantities of black coffee, reads more than he should… and broods.
These are some items he found interesting.
How to spot low agency people
4. A belief in "adults" - The childhood belief that superior god like adults run the world still exists. The reality is that the world is ran (sic) by grown up toddlers. They cry, sleep, make mistakes, visit the bathroom and will die one day.
— George Mack
The internet is 99% detritus… bovine feces so acrid that you’re forgiven if you wretch. No one will blame you if you excuse yourself and find an appropriate receptacle.
“How to spot low agency people” falls into the highly useful one percent.
Keep your eyes open and your head on a swivel. It’s dangerous for critical thinkers out here in these mean and willfully ignorant streets.
Some Theories About How the World Works
… you need a general set of theories about how the world works. This doesn’t mean you have it all figured out but having an overarching philosophy allows you to apply it to whatever is happening in the moment.
— Ben Carlson
Carlson is one of only two finance writers to whom I pay consistent attention. The other is Barry Ritholtz. Links to both are on the front page.
Carlson’s last point explains why I shrug when politicians (and others) do outrageous, infuriating and/or stupid things.
All systems… all f-ing systems… tend toward equilibrium.
Tariffs and price-fixing? It's time to make Republicans conservative again | Opinion
Alternate title: Trump May Be Republican, But Policies Are Left Wing.
… government as a populist cudgel occasionally feels good for Republicans. We’re simultaneously contorting ourselves to justify policies that would make Ronald Reagan or Milton Friedman spin in their graves.
— Cameron Smith
Occasionally making those two corpses whirl in their respective caskets is in the interest of the public good.
Just remember… when the mainstream media labels someone as “conservative,” “liberal,” and “progressive,” they may think they know the correct definitions… both past and present.
They do not.
Orwell has thoughts.
America has a billionaire problem — we need a wealth tax to fix it
Approximately 300,000 American households with wealth exceeding $50 million are sitting on over $35 trillion — a total that is equivalent to the entire U.S. national debt and more than the value of all the goods and services produced in America.
— Alan S. Davis, (links original to article)
One of the (multitude of) problems with Democrats in the 2024 election was their inability (and unwillingness) to communicate quantification succinctly.
I’m looking at you, Vice President “Word Salad.”
The facts above are staggering.
In The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel writes…
$81.5 billion of Warren Buffett's $84.5 billion net worth came after his 65th birthday. Our minds are not built to handle such absurdities.
He’s right.
As for the wealth tax proposal, reality, as is often its nasty habit, intervenes. Good luck enforcing it and good luck preventing the exodus of capital to other nations. If you don’t believe many of the aforementioned high-wealth individuals don’t have a contingency plan for such legislation, then you’re forgetting about the bunkers.
Not that there’s anything wrong with… a nice… bunker.
Five thoughts on the “one big, beautiful bill.”
While it is the mainstream media’s job (I suppose) to follow every twist and turn of the legislative process, the daily play-by-play creates confusion. Better to wait for the final product before passing judgement.
IF income tax on overtime is eliminated, sit back and watch employers reclassify hourly employees to salaried employees. Maybe some of those employees would be better off if they…
...took a job where tips provide most of the compensation? Does this mean service levels would, across the board, increase? Or would the more valuable compensation just continue to be expected?
If you have a progressive income tax system (the United States does) and you reduce taxes across the board (which this bill does), then those who earn more will keep more of their earnings. This is how math… in a progressive tax system… works.
If you want #4 to be different, elect officials willing to a) completely overhaul the tax code and b) implement a flat tax. The way to accomplish this is to a) stop bitching about it and b) get the hell to work.
Until next time.