Print this article
We got up at 5am this morning in order to catch the early train to London. It brought back memories. We made this trip every week for years. We lived in Paris, but we worked in London.
But those days are gone.
Now, we live mostly in the US but still travel frequently.
Travel is good for people with their eyes open. They see things. Usually, they realise that the world is a bigger, more complex, and more interesting place than they thought. They are humbled by it.
Anyone who thought, for example, that the US was going to create a Western-style democracy in Iraq or Afghanistan should have got out more. If he had he would have replied: “Good luck with that!”
But travel won’t help people with their eyes closed. They only see what they want to see and everything they see confirms their prejudices and delusions. They might as well stay home.
Our recent trip to Israel opened our eyes a bit to the problems in that part of the world. We had got tired of reading about them. Since we were born – which is a while ago – the US press has seemed obsessed with Israel’s concerns. Why not worry about Ghana or Denmark or Uruguay, we wondered.
But now that we’ve seen it up close we realise how fascinating it is. Israel is trying to operate a government in a hostile area with a large part of its own internal population hostile to it. Good luck with that!
Receive Bill Bonner's free daily email 'The Daily Reckoning' straight to your inbox
Also, getting out and about gives you a fresh perspective on your own home. You come back and you see things a little differently.
What we see in the US is a lumbering empire, so burdened by excess costs and silly fantasies that it cannot help going broke. It still has enough room to manoeuvre to avoid disaster. But time is short. And now, in the home stretch of a presidential election, neither candidate shows any hint of understanding the problem or having any intention to confront it.
With so many zombies on every street corner and lined up in front of every polling station – government employees, retirees, food stamp recipients, fighter jet manufacturers, chisellers, layabouts, anglers, lawyers, lobbyists – we’re not sure that any presidential candidate would dare take them on. But certainly not Obama or Romney.
As for Obama, well... good luck with that! But what about Romney? He claims to have real business experience, to understand how the economy works. He says his success in the private sector guarantees that he will have success in the public sector too. Is it so?
Here, David Stockman, Reagan’s budget director, looks at the record. He says Romney created ‘debt zombies’: Mitt Romney: The Great Deformer.
• Don't miss Bill's next Daily Reckoning. To receive the next article straight into your inbox as soon as he's written it,
sign up to the email list here .
Information in The Daily Reckoning is for general information only and is not intended to be relied upon by individual readers in making (or not making) specific investment decisions. Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Your capital is at risk when you invest in shares - you can lose some or all of your money, so never risk more than you can afford to lose. Always seek personal advice if you are unsure about the suitability of any investment. The Daily Reckoning is an unregulated product published by Fleet Street Publications Ltd. Customer services: 020 7633 3600. Fleet Street Publications Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register/home.do FSA number: 1152 34
Published in
Global economy
| More
articles
by
Bill Bonner
Related articles
-
By Simon Wilson, May 23, 2013
-
By Bill Bonner, May 20, 2013
-
By James McKeigue, May 18, 2013
-
By Simon Wilson, May 17, 2013
FREE - MoneyWeek's daily investment email
Our free daily email, Money Morning, is an informative and enjoyable analysis of what's going on in the markets. Written by our Editor, John Stepek, and guest contributors.
Sign up FREE to Money Morning here.