OPINION:
As our elected government topples with record numbers of executive orders, whole industries are wiped out on the stroke of one man’s pen. America fought wars against command-and-control economies only decades ago.
Without the Keystone Pipeline, Alberta’s Canadian oil will be sold to China, exactly what China wants. Nebraska to Texas and anyone who drives will pay. Decades of long-term private prison contracts have been declared null and void, although those guards are well-suited to new airport jobs. As of Jan. 13, according to the Federal Aviation Administration:
Passengers who interfere with, physically assault or threaten to physically assault aircraft crew or anyone else on an aircraft face stiff penalties, including fines of up to $35,000 and imprisonment. This dangerous behavior can distract, disrupt and threaten crewmembers’ safety functions.
No one defines “interfere with,” and it may include wearing a MAGA hat. Expect charter schools to die with a union secretary of Education. Meanwhile, billionaire Jeff Bezos objects to mail-in ballots for his business’ union vote because they are full of fraud — proving that billionaires see things eventually and are no brighter than the rest of us. President Biden has always favored unions; did you think, Mr. Bezos?
But financial newsletters and advisers, multi-millionaires all, have not seen the light. They rave about biomedical breakthroughs, SaaS (subscription software), and hidden gems of well-run companies with undervalued stock. The assumption is that we are still in a capitalistic environment. Today, the government is picking winners and losers.
BRAVO is now not the only television channel requiring a gay or transgender in every show, a la “The Matchmaker” or “Modern Family.” Men are metra-sexual and women “experienced,” no longer saving themselves for marriage. Even best-selling mystery writers bury liberal messages in subplots.
The Sunday news shows, once a staple in Washington, repeat themselves within such a narrow band that each show mirrors the next, with variations of former Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos the host arguing with Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, to call the last election fair on Feb. 7, but pick any Sunday. Businesses in Nazi Germany caved fast, too, as did the U.S. Chamber of Commerce this election, giving all their PAC money to Democrats to the ignorance then shock of the local memberships.
During the last liberal era, student loans, the backbone of small banking, were nationalized. Big banks were bailed out and every effort was made to kill off community banking with massive regulations after their “government bailouts” changed hands. Refusing the money meant the IRS set up shop in the back office until the day Hillary Clinton did not slap her hand on the Bible on Inauguration Day.
That chilling environment explains — but does not justify — why so many once-capitalistic firms are leaning left fast. Surviving command-and-control economies is not about being well-run, just ask Michael Lindell of My Pillow, whose Internet, social media and store contracts are being blocked — or any Trump business.
As the dangerous trend to fractional shares (Blockbuster, GameStop, Hertz and silver prices) shows, people with too-little money to be responsible investors think differently. At some point, the market’s profits will blow away like the foam on your next latte, and responsible investing will return.
A revised responsible — usually investors pare back to well-run companies, but in Biden World, they will invest in what the government likes. The Obama administration turned a small, poorly run regional bank Wells Fargo into the third-largest poorly run mega-bank with mega-fines (think goat offerings at the feet of the ruler) and government representatives on the board. Keeping a CEO was and is impossible and the best mortgage-servicing in the industry is a fiasco, with mortgagees like me paying off loans early just to be rid of them. But the stock? Up 50% since the election — because Wells Fargo is a darling of this administration.
Virginia’s new law to level some 500 acres of forest for solar panels might be a good buy … but those are Chinese panels. Or invest in electricity and charging stations … but without oil and gas, exactly where will that “clean” electricity come from?
From the Whiskey Rebellion through the Civil War to the present, urban has fought rural. Usually urban wins, fighting as unfairly as the syrup in Atlanta’s St. Stephens’ organ when Gen. Sherman raided, or the sugar in the gas tanks of Cash for Clunkers during the Clinton administration. When urban destroys rural, they use food to destroy … food created by rural citizens, as if it is easy to produce. Destroy energy and you destroy rural America, who voted for Mr. Trump. Biden World investing will be challenging; no wonder cryptocurrencies are thriving.
• Donna Wiesner Keene was a Reagan, Bush and Bush appointee and landlord who has worked in the mortgage and banking industries.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.