“Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better!”
Quote of the Day
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for.”
Socrates – Philosopher (469 – 399 BC)
Tax In Perspective
Margaret Thatcher On Statism
“When the state does everything for you, it will soon take everything from you. You will then have no basis for personal freedom, political freedom, or economic freedom.”
This is What Happens Before A Currency Reset
Debt becomes unpayable.
Authorities lie. Said would not then devalued the pound. When words do not match actions, believe actions.
Set interest rate lower than inflation.
Restrict people from moving out of currency (into gold).
Click to view the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJO0jfj47gM
“One Man”: Tucker Carlson’s Mission to Save the Republic
America’s greatest podcaster is trying to save “We the People” from the ruinous consequences of war, debt, and taxes.
John Leake 13 Aug 2026
Every nation gets the government it deserves.
— Joseph de Maistre, August 15, 1811 letter
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure.
-Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
A republic, if you can keep it.
-Benjamin Franklin, to a Philadelphia society lady upon walking out of the Constitutional Convention
How can a people be persuaded to preserve their republic if they don’t understand the intellectual, moral, and legal foundation on which their republic rests?
In 1795, James Madison wrote a letter that encapsulates the most important civics lesson that most Americans never learned.
Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and in the degeneracy of manners and of morals engendered by both. No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.
Tucker Carlson is on a mission to save the American Republic from “war, the parent of armies [the military-industrial complex] debts, and taxes.”
He agrees with James Madison that “of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded.”
Like me, he long ago came to the conclusion that all the ruinous wars the US has fought in the Middle East since 2001 do NOT serve the American people, only special interests and lobbies.
In the year 2000, the US national debt was $5.7 trillion. Just 26 years later, it’s bumping up on $40 trillion, and it’s no secret that the US government is finding it harder and harder to find large buys of US debt. Current the government must make interest payments of at least $1.2 trillion annually, with current annualized run-rates approaching $1.38 trillion. This translates to roughly $3 billion per day or over $30,000 every second.
We are looking at a huge house of cards, and God only knows what risks are accumulating in it.
I frequently receive messages from readers—as well as from people in my extended family and social circle—urging me to be more supportive of Donald Trump’s ongoing proxy war against Russia in Ukraine and his war on Iran.
Sadly—given that I find myself increasingly socially isolated—I cannot agree with them, because I cannot unlearn forty years of diligent study of history and political philosophy. I KNOW where this ship of state is headed — i.e., straight into an iceberg.
As far as I can see, Tucker Carlson is the ONLY man of substantial influence in the Republic who has a clear concept of what needs to be done to save the Republic, and who is consistently speaking out in the public forum to to achieve this mission.
He knows as well as I do that every great power in history has fallen not as a result of external enemies and pressures, but because the nation’s leadership and people lost their identity and sense of purpose as a nation.
This will certainly happen to the US Constitutional Republic, just as death will eventually come for all of us. The question is how long can this final day of reckoning be postponed. I applaud Tucker Carlson for making such a valiant effort to persuade the American people to understand and to preserve what we inherited from our forefathers.
If the great French diplomat and political philosopher, Joseph de Maistre, were alive today, he would probably advise Mr. Carlson that most of the American people deserve war, debt, and taxes because they persist in going along and even defending with their insane government.
I believe that Mr. Carlson understands that his effort may well prove to be in vain, but that he will either succeed in making a difference or die trying.
Here’s Why He Paid $25,000 For This Advice
Watch video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/83v2nd99BWU
The Blue-Collar Path by Adam Sharp
Today’s college graduates are being ejected into the real world and finding a cold, harsh reality.
The job market stinks.
New York Fed data shows that 42% of recent college grads are currently in a job that doesn’t require a degree.
At big tech companies, new graduates now account for just 7% of hires. That’s down more than half since 2019.
Companies across the country are hiring fewer entry-level white-collar workers. Recruiting firm Cadient recently showed that entry level job postings have fallen 73% since 2022 (the same year ChatGPT was released – coincidence?).
If companies aren’t hiring entry-level people, how are young grads supposed to get the experience needed to get more senior jobs?
It’s brutal out there. And stocks are at all-time highs! Imagine what would happen if we got a crash and recession.
The bottom rung of the white-collar career ladder is already breaking. And it’s going to get even more challenging from here.
Blame AI, Immigration, and Outsourcing
Advanced AI agents are playing a big role in this shift. Work that was previously done by new hires and interns is being handed off to ChatGPT, DeepSeek, and Claude.
As AI agents become capable of handling increasingly complex tasks, this disturbing trend will only accelerate.
Add in the massive influx of immigrant workers on visas like the H-1B, who are taking up an increasingly large share of desk jobs, and it’s an ugly situation. These workers happily accept lower pay and longer hours (I don’t really blame them. The blame lies with our politicians for letting it happen).
The idea that America needs to import tech workers from the 3rd world is so laughable I can’t believe anyone says it with a straight face. Yet politicians on both sides of the aisle do so on a regular basis.
Big tech/AI is the worst offender when it comes to hiring foreign workers over Americans. OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, was recently fined $3.2 million for discriminating against Americans in favor of foreign workers. According to U.S. law, companies are only supposed to get green cards for workers if they can’t find an American to do the job. But OpenAI wasn’t even trying to place Americans in some jobs. They were allegedly aiming for cheap foreign labor first. This scheme is absolutely rampant in tech.
The job listings are initially hidden, so nobody applies. Then they say “gosh nobody applied for this job we hid, so we have to hire a H-1B…”
The $3.2 million settlement is a start. But if we want this situation to change, the fines need to be a lot bigger. $3.2 million is literally nothing to big tech. Boycotts could also be an interesting tool, one which will certainly come into play eventually.
Then we have old-fashioned outsourcing, where a company fires its domestic team and boots up an operation abroad, often in India. Multiple friends of mine have been laid off due to outsourcing in recent years.
Put it all together, and it’s a rough situation for white-collar workers. Especially young ones.
The Blue-Collar Option
For a long time in this country, it felt like the only route to success was getting a college degree and finding a nice desk job. It was never really true, of course. But it sure felt that way when I was a kid.
But with the rise of AI, mass immigration, and outsourcing, this idea is breaking down.
Fortunately there is another path young people can take. The trades. And it’s going to become a lot more popular going forward.
My 17-year old son is a good example. He recently started working as an electrical apprentice. He’s already making $24 an hour. Not bad.
His senior year of high school will be spent learning the trade, while getting paid for it. It’s part of an apprenticeship program run by an organization called Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC). He’ll still graduate with his class, and even get college credits should he ever choose to pursue a degree.
IEC matched him with a local electrical company, which hired him. The company pays for his required classes, gives him a full set of tools, and offers on-the-job training. Not a bad deal.
By 21 years old, he should be making $65,000+ as a licensed journeyman electrician. And by then he should be able to save up $100,000+ living at home.
Apprenticeship programs like this are available all over the country. Many people just aren’t aware of them. For thousands of years, apprenticeships were the standard for professions. They will be again.
Blue-collar careers certainly have their advantages. No college debt, no uncertainty about AI disruption, and plenty of demand.
There are drawbacks, too, of course. It’s a physically strenuous job. But if I were his age, I’d be doing the exact same thing. I couldn’t be prouder of the path he chose.
To be clear, there are some occupations which still require a university degree. Engineering, architecture, medicine, computer science, math, etc. But AI is already eating into these jobs, and there are major disruptions on the horizon.
Let’s face it. The value of most college degrees is plummeting. Especially liberal arts. The snowball’s rolling down the hill, gathering mass and speed.
Blue-collar pay will hold up far better than most “knowledge” jobs over the next few decades. The introduction of AI practically guarantees it, even before factoring in immigration and outsourcing.
Yet despite all the emerging evidence, far too many kids still believe they need to go to college to make a decent living. This simply isn’t the case today. And it definitely won’t be in the future.
More young people should consider a career in the trades. Plumbers, electricians, welders, and other skilled workers make good money and have a lot more job security than most desk workers.
In an era filled with immigration, AI disruption, and outsourcing, the outlook for skilled blue collar work is bright.
So if there are young people in your life who are struggling with direction, encourage them to consider the trades. I’m convinced it’s the best option for many kids (and adults) today.
All the best,
Adam Sharp
for The Daily Reckoning
feedback@dailyreckoning.com
The Fourth Turning Is Here: The Old Order Is Breaking Down
In 1997, historians William Strauss and Neil Howe published “The Fourth Turning,” a cyclical theory of Anglo-American history built around generational archetypes and recurring saecular rhythms of approximately 80 to 100 years — roughly the length of a long human life. Their framework identified four “turnings,” each lasting roughly 20 to 25 years, that repeat in sequence.
The First Turning, the High, is an era of institutional confidence and community solidarity following a great crisis. The rules work, people trust them, conformity is rewarded — think the post-WWII boom, or the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.
The Second Turning, the Awakening, is a spiritual and cultural awakening that challenges the institutional consensus of the High. Individualism resurges; the establishment is questioned — the consciousness revolution of the 1960s-70s, the Second Great Awakening of the 1820s-30s.
The Third Turning, the Unraveling, sees institutions weaken, individualism reach its apex, and civic order decay. Trust collapses — in government, media, corporations, each other — as it did through the Culture Wars era of the 1980s-90s, or the Gilded Age of the 1870s-90s.
The Fourth Turning, the Crisis, is a decisive era of institutional destruction and reconstruction, typically catalysed by an existential threat — war, economic collapse, or civilisational rupture. The old order is swept away; a new one is forged. The Great Depression and WWII. The Civil War. The American Revolution.
The Current Position
By Strauss and Howe’s reckoning, the current Fourth Turning began around 2008 — the Global Financial Crisis being its catalytic spark — and will likely reach its resolution sometime in the 2025-2030 window. We are, in other words, in the heart of it. The battles being fought now — over monetary systems, institutional legitimacy, national sovereignty, and the nature of truth itself — are the defining conflicts of the crisis era.
What Fourth Turnings produce is not predictable in detail but consistent in structure: the old institutions are exposed as either corrupt or incompetent, a battle ensues between competing visions of the replacement order, and the outcome is determined by which faction can mobilise sufficient force — social, political, economic, or military — to impose its vision. The process is neither clean nor just. Fourth Turnings historically produce enormous suffering alongside the reconstruction.
The GFC was Act One: the revelation that the financial system was not a wealth-generation machine but a debt-recycling mechanism sustained by regulatory capture and central bank intervention. The quantitative easing programmes that followed — printing roughly $20 trillion across major central banks between 2008 and 2022 — bought time at the cost of massively inflating asset prices, concentrating wealth, and making the eventual reckoning worse.
Covid was Act Two: a simultaneous crisis of public health, institutional credibility, and civil liberties, weaponised by an apparatus of state control that had been building for decades and found in the pandemic a perfect justification for deployment at scale. More on this shortly.
Act Three is visible on the horizon: the currency crisis that follows years of money creation, the geopolitical realignment driven by a rising China and a fragmenting Western alliance, and the social rupture of populations that have been systematically lied to discovering the magnitude of the deception. Fourth Turnings do not end until the crisis is resolved. We have not arrived there yet.
Editor’s Note: If the Fourth Turning is already underway, the greatest disruption may still be ahead. Periods like this can destroy old assumptions, punish the unprepared, and create rare opportunities for those who understand what is happening early.
In this urgent presentation, legendary investor Doug Casey reveals how he is preparing for the coming turmoil—and the contrarian strategy he believes could help you protect your wealth, stay ahead of the crisis, and profit from opportunities most investors will miss.
The Great Reset – Willem Middelkoop
“Everything points to something breaking in the not too distant future.”