Of Panics and Debt

Peso

Enough Proof

Of Panics and Debt

By Stephen L. Wilmeth

            Tito must have what it takes.

            The handmade vodka out of Austin has a couple of things going for it. First, it isn’t owned by one of the mega conglomerates like Jack Daniel’s or Smirnoff, but it is now the he-dog atop the total sales of American spirits. The independent beat Jack by about $12M and outdistanced Diageo’s Smirnoff by some $17M.

The second great thing about the folksy marketing giant is the fact it has elected to get really good at making one single product and not being seduced to go off on trends and speculative ideas. It has continued to produce its very popular elixir in old fashioned pot stills akin to the good old days when revenuers still pried open suitcases full of bobcats along lonely back roads deep in the hinterlands.

            As for the headline it is making these last few days, though, it isn’t the fact it has become the most popular vodka in America. It is the fact it is being touted by those in the know as a best-case defense against … the coronavirus!

            Peso

            We talked about this very subject with Peso Friday morning.

            He had called to tell us the Stock Market fiasco wasn’t the end of the world and nimble maneuvering of some investments has largely erased the deep declines being witnessed on the big board. His acumen ran the gamut from large caps and small caps to sensitivity analyses. He had it all down pat.

            Ok, Peso, you are a trusted financial wizard as well as a friend, but do you think the suggestion of washing your hands with Tito’s Handmade will actually prevent the spread of the virus especially on the news that hand disinfectants are nearly stripped from the Walmart shelves?

            His technical response mirrored the very article that had been read before sunup. It seems the ownership of Tito is warning folks that, to be safe, 60% alcohol is necessary to kill the virus on bare hands, and, alas, the best vodka in the land is only 40 proof.

            That Peso, he is an amazing fountain of knowledge.

            Before the conversation turned to the recycling of world hysteria and the national debt and how that ties into investments, though, the vodka discussion had to be concluded. It was surmised that the combination of washing your hands with the Handmade spirit and leveraging it with a protective measure in the form of a good swig into the alimentary canal had to provide some defensive shield against the virus.

            It was time to talk national debt and panic syndromes.

            Of Panics and Debt

             Every year of this century has revealed a worldwide panic, and every panic has been accompanied by a threat of total annihilation. The bottom line is the press has done its level best to scare the stuffing out of us.

            From a technical standpoint, there has been the macro scare, global warming, that only grows in shrill factor every day. There has also been a running accumulation of micro panics. Each and every one of them was guaranteed to kill us. Starting with the century change and Y2K prediction, and, then in order, anthrax, West Nile, and SARS all cut the cheese so to speak from 2000 through 2003. In 2004, the astute observer will remember Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction nearly brought the curtain down again. From 2005 through 2007, we witnessed bird flu, E. coli, and Africanized bees. In 2008, the house of cards nearly collapsed with the bad economy. In 2009, we dodged a sucker punch with swine flu, and then, in 2010, the world nearly ended with the BP oil drilling escapade.

            Remember that?

            In 2011 there was a worldwide scare about not having enough iodized salt to combat the radiation fallout from the Japanese nuclear reactor meltdown (but, surfboard sales went up on the hope and expectations of another tsunami or two). In 2012 through 2014, we endured the Mayan Calendar prediction, the threat of North Korea, and, then, Ebola.

            In 2015, the Disney measle deal and ISIS competed for direst bad dreams. In 2016, we had Hillary and the Zika scare.

            Since then, 2017 to the closing act of 2019, there was Resist! and Impeach!.

            Now, having set forth that litany of almost earth ending dramas, the thought of tying each panic to its own contemporary increase in national debt is an obvious exercise. This, of course, is the only objective measure of guilt that can be assessed against the annual increases because there isn’t a single Congress or career politician in the land that is willing to lay claim to this manmade disaster.

            The marker of this obsessive compulsion display of ineptness is a string of deceit that started in 2000 with $5.6T of debt, and, as of this morning, our nation is in the yawning hole a whopping $23.8T. That’s an average of $.87T debt increase per year.

            The threat of Y2K to anthrax was the smallest potato at only $.2T increase.

            The BP drilling debacle was near the top of the heap with an increase of $1.7T, but the swine flu took top honors in 2009 with a banner increase of $1.9T. Janet’s display of enhanced naturalness was only a measly $.5T and ISIS was even less spectacular in 2015 at just over $.2T. The remainder of near extinction panics sans 2016 through the present averaged $.74T bumps.

            Hillary, Zika, Resist! and Impeach! have added $1.5T yearly increases to the outstanding balance. The Coronavirus panic isn’t in the mix to the point of articulating its impact on the debt, but it promises to be in the $1.5T class. There is one thing that is very clear, though. The whole heist is an insult to every citizen.

Our willingness to put up with it transcends all decency.

            Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico. “Thanks to an Intercessional Angel for the idea.”