Whitehouse Declares “Not A Recession,”… Move Along Citizen

Talk is cheap, follow-through is what matters.

Former Dallas Fed Chief says Pelosi took advantage of inside information.

Gold tests $1675 then bounces $100 higher.

Whitehouse Declares “Not A Recession,” … Move Along Citizen

August 2, 2022

“As we exist in a stagflationary environment and contemplate stepping a first foot into recession, Congress’s way of dealing with these anxieties and pressers is to consider an extra 400 billion in spending and a tax increase of $739 billion. It sounds like genius at work.” — David McAlvany

Kevin: Welcome to the McAlvany Weekly Commentary. I’m Kevin Orrick, along with David McAlvany. 

Well, you know this is the day you’ve been waiting for, at least I have. I wanted to hear how the trip to France was, and what is it like to ride a bike up the Alpe d’Huez, a 10% grade? Sometimes I think it’s 10% plus. What was that like, Dave, this last weekend?

David: Well, there were parts of it that were magnificent and beautiful, and there were parts of it that were absolutely brutal. And just one pedal stroke at a time was all I was responsible for. One of the reasons I like to do races like this is because so much of my life is focused in the present moment. It’s that healthy balance to find a future focus and have some aspirational goals that are way out on the horizon and require some daily disciplines. Because the daily grind of operating within the financial markets can have you so focused on this day and this moment in the here and now that I just think it’s a healthy balance to be very present, but also have some attention put on something that is months or even years ahead. This was so beautiful. Again, I can’t imagine a more beautiful course, the French Alps. I’d love to go back. I don’t know if I’ll to that race again. It was probably like childbirth. There’s enough pain associated with it. I think I’m probably fine for now, but we’ll see.

Kevin: One of the things I love about you, Dave, is we’re learning, especially right now with our leadership, talk is cheap; follow-through is everything. While you were doing the race, my wife and I were replacing a propane tank. We have a 500-gallon propane tank because in the wintertime that’s how we heat the house, and of course the stove uses the propane, and the hot water heater. So propane’s critical. We had a company who would fill our tank that we thought was local, and over time, they just went away. They didn’t tell us. 

So it’s just interesting the difference between follow-through— When you say you’re going to go do a race, you do it and you follow through. It’s not like going and buying an exercise bike and giving it to the thrift store a year later. What we finally had to do, my wife and I, we would make calls and say, “Hey, when are you going to fill the propane tank?” And they’d say, “Oh, well, we’ll be there on Tuesday.” And it’s like, “All right.” And they weren’t there on Tuesday. Then we’d call and say, “You told us you would be there on Tuesday.” “Oh no, no, we’ll be there on Thursday.” Well, this happened a few times. This winter, it actually became very tense because we realized there was no real follow-through. 

I bring that up, Dave, because if you say you’re going to do something, you need to do it. And that applies not just to racing, not just to propane tanks, which we switched companies who actually does follow through, but that applies even to geopolitical events. You look at what’s going on with the Ukraine. A lot of talk is going on with the Ukraine. China’s watching closely right now. Bill Burns, the head of the CIA, said that’s going to be critical. Are we going to follow through, or what’s the world doing with Ukraine? And what does that look like in relation to Taiwan, which China has on their radar?

David: I’m not sure why,