I'm 56 years old. I suppose that's considered "middle-aged." But sometimes, I get that kind of grouchy one would normally associate with an "old guy."

While I can still throw roundhouse kicks to the head, I'm sticking with middle-aged. Not that roundhouse kicks to the head have any practical use in the real world, but that's a subject for another day.

One thing that brings on the grouch for me is whining about "elites." Yes, Bill Gates and people of his ilk are up to all sorts of no good, but that's largely because their victims have given them the tools with which to oppress them.

Ironically, they have often done this at the behest of demagogues promising to protect them from those very same elites. Invariably, this is accomplished with an appeal to "rights" no one really has. 

Anyway, I thought I'd get this off my chest to the one group of people who probably don't need to hear this: you, my dear readers. But it may arm you with an argument you didn't previously have in your arsenal. It goes something like this:

Blaming elites is childish; It’s time to put aside childish things

First, let’s debunk a loudly trumpeted fiction: “corporate power.” There is no such thing. Power is the ability to use force and violence with impunity. No corporation has that. Only the government has power and only as much as the citizenry will allow it.

Yes, very wealthy people have more influence over the government than everyone else. You should have known that before you built a government with such enormous power to begin with.

And it was you, who identify yourselves with the deceptively innocuous name, “We the People,” who constructed the monstrosity that now demands you take any injection it decrees and refrain from speaking any word or even thinking any thought that threatens it.

You didn’t build it all in one day. It took decades. But every brick in this edifice of evil was made of the same clay: invading the property of your neighbors to obtain what you believed was additional safety. Before each brick was laid, voices of reason warned you of the danger. You not only refused to listen but derided all who appealed to your common sense.

It’s one thing to disregard the morality of respecting the life, liberty, and possessions of your fellows. It’s another to refuse to recognize the obvious results.

You told healthcare providers they could charge anything they wished, regardless of their customers’ ability to pay, and taxpayers would pay the difference. Then, you were outraged by how quickly healthcare prices rose.

You told colleges and universities they, too, could charge whatever they wished, financed by loans guaranteed by taxpayers. You were again outraged not only at the artificially high prices, but the students inability to pay back the loans. What did you expect?

It doesn’t take an advanced degree in economics to recognize these obvious cause and effect relationships. Anyone with a sixth-grade education and control over his emotions could spot them a mile away. Unfortunately, people meeting both criteria are in the minority.

Read the rest...

Of course, the most destructive institution built ostensibly to protect the little guy against the machinations of the elites is the Federal Reserve System. Whether it does exactly the opposite by design or government incompetence is really beside the point because it does.

I explain it all in my latest book, It’s the Fed, Stupid. If you haven't already, download a free e-book copy here.

It’s also available in paperback here. It’s priced at a pre-hyperinflation level so grab a few copies for friends if you can.

It makes a great introduction to the government’s most economically damaging institution for liberals, conservatives, libertarians, socialists, and independents alike.

It also helps me keep the lights on here so I can continue to bring you great content.