Juggling Dynamite

Interesting perspective expressed in this clip that Reagan’s tax reforms passed in August 1981 because the government was brought together for a few sympathetic months after he had been shot in March 1981.  Stockman actually witnessed these events first hand serving as a Republican U.S. Representative from Michigan (1977–1981), and as Reagan’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget (1981–1985).  Here is a direct video link.

I outlined the profound differences between today and 1981, in terms of economic and market cycle–tax and debt levels, interest rates, demographics, growth outlook and asset valuations–in my discussion with Kerry Lutz yesterday; will post asap.

This is an amazing, inspiring story.  People seem to be waking up to the realization that change must be led by we individuals on the ground, not doled out from figureheads at the top.  Led by Michael A. Wood Jr., a Marine Corps veteran that recently retired from the Baltimore police force to work toward reforming law enforcement, and Wes Clark Jr. (son of military leader General Wesley Clark), 250 veterans have already signed on to the effort of peaceful resistance at Standing Rock.  See:  Veterans are planning a ‘deployment’ to Standing Rock to protest Dakota Access Pipeline.

“This country is repressing our people,” Wood Jr. says. “If we’re going to be heroes, if we’re really going to be those veterans that this country praises, well, then we need to do the things that we actually said we’re going to do when we took the oath to defend the Constitution from enemies foreign and domestic.”

Lest we forget:  the reason oil producers are hoping for an output freeze is because the demand side is weakening and world oil inventories are at record highs. But even if an output agreement is achieved in principle next week, the norm is for OPEC members to cheat and pump more than the agreed quantity.  Then there is the self-interest of all the other global producers to keep selling product, in an effort to grab needed cash flow.

Iran will be resistant to any agreement to cut production at November’s OPEC meeting, Again Capital’s John Kilduff told CNBC on Wednesday.

“There’s just no way the Iranians are going to agree to this,” Kilduff said. “I think they see a horizon, potentially, where their oil production and exports get disrupted again by the new Trump administration, … so why would they agree to any sort of cut at all right now?” Here is a direct video link.