It is a mathematical fact that gasoline in the U.S. will eventually rise to $100 for a gallon (perhaps $130 for those interested in higher octane). This is not fear-mongering but basic arithmetic and economics.  Here’s why.

The price of goods and labor is directly linked to money supply and market factors.  This is not merely “supply and demand” economics but an issue of overheating (or overleveraging) an economy by printing and/or borrowing too much money.  When a government prints more money than the underlying economy is generating in real wealth, this is essentially a form of borrowing, often called “debt monetization.”

The United States has been doing this for decades, staving off the ordinary fluctuations in the economy punctuated by innovations and growth alternating with recessions – borrowing money in times of turmoil softens the blow, but also forestalls the consequences.

This is seen not just in the reckless Biden-Harris spending extravaganza masked by upside-down monikers such as “Build Back Better” or the “Inflation Reduction Act,” but across party lines and even centuries.

Notably, the largely forgotten S & L Crisis of the 1980s under the Reagan administration was never paid off: the proverbial can was simply kicked down the economic road (subject to compound interest, of course).  The S & L debacle is estimated to have cost U.S. taxpayers some $132 billion, chump change by today’s debt measures. But that “crisis” caused the collapse of more than 1,000 U.S. banks and the insolvency of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation.

That $132 billion in 1980s dollars has not yet been paid off – it was simply rolled into the national deficit, followed by decades of mostly deficit spending by both parties.  The 2007-2008 financial crisis is estimated to have cost taxpayers some $498 billion, though President Obama famously lied to taxpayers in 2012, claiming the government recouped “every dime” used to rescue the banks he bailed out.  Whatever the actual sum, it remains subsumed in the accumulated national federal deficit of about $35 trillion.

Imagine running a household on infinite credit card debt, and you understand the federal government’s profligacy.  But it is much worse than that.  When unfunded entitlement obligations such as Medicaid and Social Security are counted, the current total estimated debt of the U.S. government exceeds $100 trillion, and the federal debt-to-GDP ratio is above 122%.  Currency and credit derivatives approximated $90 trillion in 2000, when U.S. Treasury dollars were $3,546,531,560, according to usdebtclock.org; they now exceed $1,576,612,150,000 – 444 times as much printed money in 25 years, far outstripping real GDP growth.

A 2024 Ford F-150 now sells for $36,770 ($73,735 for the Platinum model).  Has the truck’s “value” increased, or has the relative value of the dollar simply deteriorated?  The answer is a tad of both – these 2024 trucks have more gadgets and extras (the Platinum is a hybrid) than a 1986 Ford F-150, which retailed for $8,373 ($19,587.47 in today’s dollars).  But that difference between $8,373 and $19,587 is all inflation, which is accelerating dangerously despite Biden administration deceptions.

The moral hazard is that rewarding one’s pet projects and crony donors by printing money and disbursing it favorably is hard to trace.  The impact of this practice always falls on the poorest wage earners and fixed-income recipients in the form of higher prices and shrunken real incomes, but it is virtually impossible to link back to root causes, thus the temptation to do so because there is no accountability.

In his monetary policy study titled “Money Mischief,” economist Milton Friedman traces this conundrum, emphasizing that overprinting money is always what causes inflation:

According to Milton Friedman (1963)—and also the Deutsche Bundesbank (1999)—inflation is “always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon” and thus the responsibility of central banks. This conclusion builds on the so-called quantity equation (M * V = P * Y), which establishes a relationship between the quantity of money controlled by central banks (M), the price level (P), the quantity of all goods and services produced (Y) and the velocity of money in circulation (V). If the velocity of money in circulation is constant, then the price level rises if the money supply grows faster than the quantity of all goods and services produced.

Friedman also warned that all fiat currencies eventually collapse because they are not backed by actual physical assets.  This means that just like that F-150, the price of a gallon of gas will eventually climb to $100/gallon and that wages will never keep pace – without regard to oil supply shortages or interruptions in distribution (such as could be inflicted by an Iranian attack on numerous oil-shipping choke points).

A glimpse of what is inevitably coming to American shores is found in the example of Zimbabwe, which also shows that math, and money-printing, are not racist but color blind – they don’t care what skin color, social justice cause, or Utopian fantasy is employed to violate their fundamental logic.  Robert Mugabe tried to harness the Zimbabwean economy for social spending (“social justice”), with devastating effects on that nation’s currency and people.  Inflation rates reached nearly 250,000,000 % in 2008, though they have subsided to “merely” 57.5 % currently.  A $10 trillion Zimbabwean note can be purchased for about $10 U.S.

The U.S. dollar is not immune to such abuses, and America is on the precipice of a monetary disaster (to be “rescued” by an all-controlling digital currency).  As one commentator observed in October 2022 of Biden-seeded inflation:

….the M2 money supply is up 41.6% over the past three years.  So while not all inflations are caused by rapid money growth, this one is.  Indeed velocity has actually slowed during this period, which means that more than 100% of the inflation comes from monetary policy as defined by Friedman.  Thus, at least this time around: It’s the money supply, stupid.

The United States Congress created a bipartisan commission to tackle rising debt, but in an election year there is bipartisan hesitancy to take this mighty monetary bull by its inflationary horns:

More than six months later, the proposal appears all but dead, extinguished by vocal opposition from both the right and the left.

Facing the reality that any fiscal commission would almost certainly suggest that Americans pay more or get less from their government, lawmakers have time and again done what they do so well: punt the problem to the next Congress. And they seem poised to do so again.

This means that even without interruptions of foreign oil supplies or Biden policies shrinking U.S. energy production and oil drilling, reckless U.S. monetary policy promises to drive the price at the pump for gasoline far above a paltry $100/gallon.  In the future, American fathers and mothers will not nostalgically say, “I remember when gas was 17 cents a gallon.”  They will tell their children, “I remember when gasoline was only $100 a gallon.”

 

John Klar is an Attorney, farmer, and author. Mostly farmer… And Regular Contributor to GraniteGrok and VermontGrok.

The post When Gasoline is $100 per Gallon appeared first on Granite Grok.

There are many ways to look at Biden’s comments when he goes off teleprompter. First, it shows his mental acuity is gone, which most logical observers have been saying for a few years. Two, it shows his little respect for anyone across the aisle, and this is from the man who promised to be the great unifier. It makes us salivate at the thought of this feeble old man debating Trump.

At one of his campaign stops over the weekend, Biden was working hard to scare his listeners, and they were just a few, by telling them what kind of Judge Trump would appoint to the Supreme Court if he got a chance. He qualified his thought, saying, “Does he even know how to nominate a judge with a brain?” Are you kidding me? Can this man be any less respectful? I don’t think so. How do the three Supreme Court justices he appointed – Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett feel about the current President, who cannot string two sentences together, questioning their intelligence intelligence? That is rich, very rich!

Sometimes, Biden doesn’t even have to speak to show his ignorance. We all remember the flag-draped remains of the thirteen service people returning to America at Dover Air Force Base. Pictures don’t lie, but Biden and his surrogates do. Biden has denied it, and Jenn Psaki, Biden’s Press Secretary, wrote in her recent book that Biden did not glance at his watch during the dignified transfer.

Just a week ago, Biden showed his lack of respect for the former President, “That other guy, that loser. I think he’s having trouble,” Biden said, without referring to Trump by name. The insult was met with laughter in the ballroom for an event honoring Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. “That other guy, that loser. I think he’s having trouble,” Biden said, without referring to Trump by name. The insult was met with laughter in the ballroom for an event honoring Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. To be fair, Trump shows no respect for the current President.

Speaking to the NAACP this weekend in Detroit, he referenced his tenure as Vice President during the Pandemic when Barack Obama sent him to Detroit to help fix it. What is he talking about? He was VP from 2009 to 2017, and the Pandemic did not hit until 2020! Somebody, please fact-check this old man.

In April, President Biden made the sign of the cross, a gesture Catholics often make before and after prayer, while listening to pro-abortion comments by a fellow Democrat in Florida. “Biden’s decision to make the sign of the cross in support of abortion extremism is a despicable charade that attempts to co-opt a sacred practice in support of his new abortion religion,” added CatholicVote President Brian Burch. “His gesture openly mocks the Christian belief in the sanctity of life.”

“There is no divine support for destroying the lives of innocent children, and he should know better,” Burch added. “Biden’s gesture suggests he is either terribly naive, or senile, or callously indifferent to the foundational beliefs of millions of Christians in America.”

The last sentence in Burch’s statement sums up Joe Biden perfectly. “He is either terribly naive, or senile, or callously indifferent to the foundational beliefs of millions of Christians in America.” It is not just Christians but anyone on the Right side of the aisle. For a man who was to unify, he widened the aisle to a four-lane highway with Do Not Cross signs at the entire length. No President, not even Jimmy Carter, has done as much in one term to bring down Americans and America.

The post Did Joe Biden Really Say That appeared first on Granite Grok.

To recap from Part 1: “It needs to be done by someone so why NOT us?”. Yeah, that’s a great summarization of this 3-Part interview with Ken Eyring and Tom Murray

GIP – the Government Integrity Project – was founded by Ken and Tom a number of years ago. Its  mission, with their relentless (and sometimes, ruthless – heh!) is in being vigilant in finding out where Government is not playing with a straight deck with what it is supposed to do – cut . And like with Windham, NH, finding out locals here in NH where such tomfoolery (and faux foppery in trying to do the “cover up waltz” to throw people off their scents). “Good ole’ boys” networks, self-centered politicians, and unelected, unaccountable, and unassailable bureaucrats should be looking over their shoulders.

The strains from the TV show should be bouncing in your head right about now “Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?”. Yup, GIP knows what to do.

And, both have their own individual stories to tell – and they did!

Part 2:

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Parting Quote from their time on the Windham School Board:

“You don’t have to spend more money to get better results”

when it comes to school budgets (heh! Music to Grokster Ian’s ears!)

 

The post “Why Do You Do This Stuff?” – With Ken Eyring and Tom Murray Part 2/3 appeared first on Granite Grok.

The question of the day with no wrong answer is which man is the biggest sleazebag- Michael Avenatti or Michael Cohen. Both are lawyers, con artists, liars, and now thieves. Grammarly just informed me that sleazebag may be inappropriate. Absolutely not; it is not vile enough for these two individuals.

The connection between these two men is the ridiculous felony trial against Donald Trump by the State of New York. Michael Avanati stole from the porn star witness who was used to embarrass Trump, and he is now doing time. Cohen, who was the star witness against Donald Trump, has already done time for perjury. He was a convicted liar and, after his confession today that he stole $60,000 from Trump in lieu of a bonus he was denied, is now a thief. Alvin Bragg has to charge Cohen to save face in this farce of a trial.

The case against Trump is in its fifth week, with closing arguments scheduled to begin next Tuesday, and there has still not been a crime charged against Biden. How can you have a trial when no law is identified or violated or a victim?

Most of the so-called legal experts on CNN and MSNBC were flabbergasted after Cohen’s confession, except for Lawrence O’Donnell of MSNBC, who did his dramatic best to justify the theft by Cohen as compensation for the unpaid bonus. What a fool. This guy should be writing soap operas because he lacks credibility as a political analyst. No, Lawrence, there is no justification. Cohen did not earn his bonus, and to take the money as compensation is theft, plain and simple.

This case is Lawfare in 2024. Forty years ago, the Justice Department at the state and federal level had accountability. If there was a crime, a grand jury was called, charges were filed, and a court case proceeded. Today, politicians use the Justice Department to attack opponents, manufacture a charge, and tie the person up in the system for months. If you bankrupt the individual, so much the better. If, forty years ago, an aspiring DA ran on the promise of destroying a political individual, they were chastised and probably pulled from the election. Today, that same DA candidate is cheered and elected. The system has gone rank and stinks, but it is the public to blame, for it is votes that put these people into office. Alvin Braggs, Leticia James, and Fanni Willis are the poster children of what is wrong. Sadly, these three are Black, and rather than take advantage of the opportunity they have been given to do something positive, they pull the race and WOKE card to feed an agenda. It is a sick system and a sad statement about where our society is in 2024.

We can and must do better. We must insist on a higher caliber individual to run for office and never cast a vote for anyone who does not measure up. If not, these agenda-driven individuals will play the system, and we will continue to write about the problem.

Author’s Note: Thank you to all of the Granite Grok readers, especially those who take the time to comment on my articles. Today is my 1,300th published article, and the Grok is my favorite platform to syndicate my work because of you.

The post The Star Witness May Become The Defendant appeared first on Granite Grok.

At the beginning of the legislative session, Senator Dan Innis proposed legislation that would allow school districts to contract with a health care provider, health system, or community partner to establish a school based health center for the purpose of providing services to students beyond the scope of school nursing services.  The public made sure this dangerous Bill never made it out of the New Hampshire Senate.

Unfortunately some schools in New Hampshire have gone rogue, and are now working with school based health clinics like Amoskeag in Manchester. My hope is that a parent and attorney will challenge this in court since there has been no legislative approval for these kinds of clinics in our schools.

What have we found out about some of these clinics around the country? We know a high school girl in Maine was prescribed an antidepressant without her parents’ knowledge or consent.  There are plenty of examples where parents have been kept in the dark when their child visits the school-based health clinic.

The latest example comes from Seattle, where a public school-based health clinic will be offering children cross-sex hormones as part of their school day.

 

 

Screenshot

 

 

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What does Amoskeag offer children who visit its school-based health clinic in Manchester? You can find more about that here.

First, parents need to ensure that each visit to a school counselor, behaviorist, doctor, or nurse is accompanied by a parent. In addition, parents should consent to all of this. That does not mean blanket consent but consent for each visit and service.

Some parents concerned about privacy rights or who do not trust that they will be respected in their parental role have already started notifying the school district that they are not to provide these services to their children.

If parents do encounter problems associated with these school based health clinics, they can contact me, and I will help them look into the situation. Some of the employees working in these clinics have made it clear that parents will be cut out of this process. They will not notify them or ask them for consent. Since it’s federally funded, they don’t believe parents have a right to know or consent to this treatment. That’s something every parent needs to consider if their district heads in this direction.

 

The post Community Schools Offering Cross-Sex Hormone Therapy to Children appeared first on Granite Grok.

We’re always looking for anything that will inform our readers and trigger the fragile snowflakes, and this clip might be just what the under-trained, ill-informed public school health clinic counselor ordered.

It might be a bit more triggering than informing, as our readership is well-versed on the subject and aware of the participants. Dr. David Martin was relatively unknown to a majority of Americans until the Plandemic movie, after which he became a go-to resource and household name among those daring to ask the wrong questions about the Wuhan Flu and the political response to it.

We’ve shared some of David’s observations in the past (here, if interested), so his recent appearance on Russell Brand’s podcast (naturally) caught my attention. It’s a great conversation you can watch in its entirely here, but I wanted to clip a bit and share it to get the thoughts of this community.

Russel and Dave had been talking about governments and wars running cover for what was essentially a legalized drug cartel beginning with opium and how the latest enrichment of Big Pharma isn’t much different from the British Empire’s arrangement with the East India Company and the export of opium for fun and profit. Martin essentially says if you read their own words this was all deliberate with specific goals.

Like I said, it’s a great conversation. Here’s the clip.

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