Our Favorite Financial Philosopher: Bill Bonner

What we have come to dislike about the neo-conservatives is not that their view of the world is right or wrong - for how could we know? - but that it is so small. They are true believers in a very tiny world...one with no room for mystery, contradiction, ignorance or humility. It has to be small; otherwise they could not understand it.

Neo-cons think they can see what no mortal has ever seen: the future. That is the twisted genius of the 'Preemptive Attack'; they stop the criminal before he has committed his crime! They think they can know what no mortal has ever known: not only what isgood for himself and his country...but what is good for the entire world. And they intend to give it to them, whether they want it or not. Intoday's email box, for example, George W. Bush himself sends us the following message:"...liberty is God's gift to humanity, the birthright of every individual.The American creed remains powerful today because it represents the universal hope of all mankind."Here we will take a wild guess: there are probably more than a few bipeds hobbling around the planet for whom the "American creed" is not so much a hope as a dread.But the president continues:"We are winning the war against enemies of freedom, yet more work remains. We will prevail in this noble mission. Liberty has the power to turn hatred into hope.""America is a force for good in the world," continues the leader of theworld's only super-duper power, "and the compassionate spirit of America remains a living faith. Drawing on the courage of our Founding Fathers and the resolve of our citizens, we willingly embrace the challenges before us."America's citizens, meanwhile, are deeply in debt. They see little choicebut to back the system, such as it is. Free or un-free, they could careless. Just keep the money flowing. They have come to rely on government.They need Fannie Mae...and unemployment insurance...and socialsecurity...and jobs...and the Fed...and fiscal stimulus. Or, at least,they think they do.After 50 years of the Dollar Standard boom, the average American findshimself less free than ever. He is a slave to the highest government spending and biggest public debt burden in history...and to the heaviest mortgage and other private debt load ever. He has mortgaged up his house...he has taken the bait of credit-card lenders. Now he has no freedom left; he must keep a job...he must pay attention to the Fed's rates...he must have an interest in George Bush's government (for now hedepends on it)!"July 4 should be about celebrating freedom and independence," wrote Richard Benson, published in this week's Barron's, "yet the bankers arethe only people jumping for joy. Never have Americans owed so much interms of their total debt, the ratio of total debt to income and theamount of cash flow the debt needs to serve it. Americans used to believethat if they were debt-free, they were free. Today, Americans just wantthe freedom to borrow more, even if it means they are on the way tobecoming enslaved by their debt."The average citizen is only a few paychecks from getting put out of his house. He no longer has the freedom to step back...to reflect...tothink...to wonder about things...or enjoy the contradictions. Instead, hemust listen to the words of economists as if they meant something...andbow before the politicians who control his livelihood...and place himselfat the beck and call of every government agency with a dollar to spend.The message from George W. Bush concludes with an endearing personal note,in which "Laura joins me in sending our best wishes for a safe and joyousIndependence Day..."Laura who, we wondered? Oh yes...the First Lady.How we got to be on a first-name basis with the woman, we don't know. We have never even met her. Why she should wish us a happy day, we don't understand. But these are the peculiar, baroque eccentricities of America that make it such an endearing place to its citizens and such a rich treasure for contemporary ethnologists and stand-up comics.

They, too, will wonder about the contradictions. Why do Americans celebrate "freedom" ever more loudly, while becoming ever less free...? How can they crow about the "home of the brave" when they attack pitiful, third world nations that can't defend themselves? How can they ballyhoo their own independence when their armies occupy two foreign nations? Most people will ignore the contradictions altogether. Many will see the mass hypocrisy. Some will be outraged. And a few will hear the off-tempo tango beat, and enjoy the holiday anyway.