We’re Living in an Era of the Unprecedented – January 2023

We are living in unprecedented times. Think about all the events and situations to which this powerful word applies.

The Covid 19 pandemic was unprecedented. The response of lockdowns, and billions of injections of drugs approved only under emergency authorization, were unprecedented. The amount of money magically created out of thin air to address the financial costs of Covid and the subsequent market crash were unprecedented. 40% of the money created in the 247-year history of our country was created since 2020! **

The loss of learning due to school closures – unprecedented. A multitude of events in relation to Donald Trump’s presidency were unprecedented, including a relentless effort to unseat him, and January 6th (maintaining non-partisanship).

The humanitarian crisis at the border is unprecedented. As much destruction as drug trafficking has caused, the current opioid and fentanyl epidemics are truly unprecedented. The inflation rate is unprecedented in most of our lifetimes, as is the decrease in life expectancy.

The influence of social media on our lives is unprecedented. The dysfunction of Congress arguably is unprecedented, illustrated by its disapproval rating in 2022 of 82%. The last time it took this long to elect a speaker of the House was 1856! Considering these factors, could our next financial crash be unprecedented even for modern times?

 

1987, the Dot-com crash, and 2008 were all terrible years for our markets, “unprecedented.” Nonetheless, given the unprecedented amount of fiat currency created by the US government and other economies of the world; given the abysmal leadership in Washington; given the absolutely unique and comprehensive Covid disaster, and our aging demographics, could we be heading into the worst financial environment anyone alive has ever seen?

These unprecedented events will have consequences, no matter how many times the powers that be tell you there’s nothing to see here.

Particularly when it comes to debt, we are OVER the cliff. Stating a previous fact another way, 40% of money ever created in the U.S. was created during the last 1% of our existence. This is shocking. Is our government concerned? You can ask Congress, which just passed 1.7 trillion dollars of new spending (another 8% increase in fake money).

I keep asking the same questions. Do you want to protect against the possibility of unprecedented financial calamity? Even better, would you like to position yourself not only to be OK if it occurs, but to take advantage of it?

When would you like to know how to do this, before or after the “unprecedented” occurs?

Disclaimer: This newsletter represents the opinion of Arieff Consulting, Inc, and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice.