Now if you're a young 'un, who believes they'll be healthy until the day they die, working all the while, there's no need to prepare for the future. But if you're a boomer, living on a fixed income.
You had to own stocks just to keep up with inflation.
So...
That's the story of the day, how the market crashed. In the wake of Trump hinting at a recession. And in today's print edition, the "Wall Street Journal" had an article whose headline says it all:
"Are Stocks a Sure Thing Over the Long Term? Not Necessarily - While it doesn't occur frequently, U.S. stocks, as well as international markets, have produced losses over 10- and 20-year periods, research shows"
www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/stocks-long-term-investment-risks-873723c1
Are you anxious yet?
They're coming for you next. Whether they're going to fire you, cut your Medicaid, remove support for your research...
But today they reached Elon Musk. And he is FREAKING OUT!
Why?
BECAUSE OF THE MONEY!
The best article I saw on this was in "Rolling Stone":
"Musk Melts Down as Tesla Stock Price Plunges - The electric vehicle company has become a toxic brand as its CEO wreaks havoc in Washington"
apple.news/AVUSDPFCDRYadaxWUhQAsvg
That's behind a paywall, but if you subscribe to Apple News+ you can read it. You may think the internet is still free, but if you want to know what is going on you have to pay. And information is the key to knowledge and success. The more sources you've got, the better you can divine the truth.
So...
Tesla stock went down 15% today.
So it must be Reid Hoffman's fault. Who Elon is accusing of hanging on Epstein's island in response.
Or else it's George Soros, the right wing bogeyman, he's behind all this anti-Tesla activity. It was all funded via ActBlue, which in truth doesn't fund anything at all!
And to combat the negative press, Musk is retweeting the comments of Laura Loomer. Talk about credibility!
It shouldn't be a big surprise, if you know anything about people and business.
Brands have equity. And Musk has completely undercut Tesla's. He made a cool brand toxic overnight. And this ain't Bud Light, cars are expensive, good luck getting his bros on X to buy one.
History is littered with brands that were kings until a faux pas. Hell, it even killed the career of Billy Squier. You maintain and nurture your brand equity, it is everything.
BUT NOT TO ELON!
Oh, you're a believer in Elon?
You should read this piece in the "Times":
"Musk's Tweet-Fueled Bubble May Be About to Burst"
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/09/opinion/musk-tesla-sales-stock-price.html
Here's the money shot:
"The high-wire act goes something like this: Dream up a business so ambitious that any setback is trivial and every accomplishment heroic. Identify yourself as the manic genius behind this ambitious business in order to personally capitalize on outsize returns from excited investors. Enlist social media to cement your iconic status, keeping your believers so enthusiastic that their fervor beats back any skeptics who dare to bet against your ventures, even as you pitch more and more fantastical ideas. At this point you hit the flywheel: Other investors, searching for outsize returns, flock to the shares of your other companies, pushing their valuations ever higher, thus fortifying your wealth and burnishing your reputation as a business mastermind."
Everyone bought the myth. But is it built on a foundation of sand?
Musk's bona fides are bedrock amongst the bros. He's an icon, they tell me this every day in a slew of e-mails.
But Richard Nixon still had supporters when he was impeached.
And today, Elon resembles no one so much as Nixon, in that he's PARANOID!
Elon believes they're out to get him and none of it is his fault. Which is hilarious if you think about it.
Now let's be clear, we can't credit Musk's freak-out to the Democrats. No article pissed me off today as much as this one:
"Democrats Voice Regret on Scattered Responses to Trump's Speech - Progressive and moderate Democrats criticized a protest by Representative Al Green as a distraction, and the party leadership tried to refocus attention on economic issues."
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/09/us/politics/trump-speech-congress-democrats.html
The Republicans don't do this. Marjorie Taylor Geene and Lauren Boebert are literally looney-tunes, but are they censured by their right wing compatriots? OF COURSE NOT!
Don't these Democratic bozos know we like that Al Green had a backbone and stood up against the inanities spewed by Trump? It was all a circus, Green was acting appropriately.
But in the circular firing squad known as the Democrats, he undercut their message. Which is exactly what?
I saw a great clip by Chelsea Fagan on TikTok today.
WHO?
I had no idea, but she was served up by the algorithm and she nailed it:
www.tiktok.com/@faganchelsea/video/7479941499099155734?lang=en
The elected Democrats are paying us lip service, but they really don't care about us, the working people, the hoi polloi. Everybody knows this, but nobody in the party will say it.
So what happens now?
If you search on Tesla in the Google News you'll be confronted with a plethora of negative stories. Ditto in Apple News+.
Once again, if we're depending on the media for change, we're going to wait forever. The people make change. The media just reports.
And the people are PISSED!
The rich and famous believe they're inviolate. But when they're exposed, when they're confronted with the words of their detractors, they can't believe it, they're flummoxed, their intentions were good, how dare you decry me!
It's hilarious to watch these heroes take a fall. Because they're so blind.
The public has Elon Musk on the run. Not the Democrats, but the people. Who have taken matters into their own hands.
They hit Elon where it hurt, in his pocketbook.
Who are they going to hit next? Trump? Marco Rubio?
It reminds me of the 1992 riots in Los Angeles in the wake of the Rodney King verdict. Unlike in '65, with the Watts riots, this time they came north, into Hollywood. And next time they're going into Beverly Hills, and Bel-Air too!
People aren't stupid. They go where the money is, where it will hurt the oligarchs the most.
You may be in a bubble, you may be unaware of all this.
But that does not mean it's not happening.
There's a war in America, and it's just getting started. And it's being fought by people who have nothing to lose. And when you've got nothing to lose, you put it all on the line. Which is why America couldn't defeat the North Vietnamese.
Can Elon and Donald defeat the American people?
They may have defeated the Democrats, but the public?
Beware.
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