| Ripple Effect — July 10, 2025
Should we be concerned about the economy – much less the stock market – as President Trump heats up his tariff rhetoric?
Perhaps, tongue-in-cheek, we should first look at the data. Where are Americans spending their money these days – and how resilient is that spending in a world of higher tariffs?
The latest troubling trend shows that Americans are spending more on healthcare – often in the form of “insurance” that doesn’t insure against anything – than on necessities like food and housing: Americans now spend more on healthcare than on groceries. U.S. healthcare continues to outpace overall inflation, thanks to high government involvement in mandates and subsidies.
We note – somewhat jokingly – that if these trends continue, healthcare spending will be the entire U.S. economy by about 2150.
Meanwhile, some forms of healthcare, such as cosmetic surgery, continue to rapidly-improve over time and costs decline.
But where the government lays its hand on the scale, all Americans are burdened with the costs of a government-run healthcare plan, while still having the appearance of a private, free-market plan.
~ Addison P.S. What caused the madness of America’s healthcare system? The blame starts with FDR. During World War II, wage and price freezes and a labor shortage led to employers coming up with the idea of providing health insurance.
Today, your insurance is still tied to your job – but with the negatives of government plans and mandates that make it unwieldy. And it’s a problem that looks like it’ll get worse before – err, if – it gets better, as it's not a centerpiece of President Trump's Great Reset plan. As always, your reader feedback is welcome: feedback@greyswanfraternity.com (We read all emails. Thanks in advance for your contribution.)
How did we get here? Find out in these riveting reads: Demise of the Dollar, Financial Reckoning Day, and Empire of Debt — all three books are now available in their third post-pandemic editions. You might enjoy one or all three.  (Or… simply pre-order Empire of Debt: We Came, We Saw, We Borrowed, now available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble or if you prefer one of these sites: Bookshop.org, Books-A-Million or Target.)
Please send your comments, reactions, opprobrium, vitriol and praise to: feedback@greyswanfraternity.com |
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar