I just read that the cost of a first-class postage stamp will increase to 58¢ on August 29.

Seems like yesterday the stamp cost only 5¢.  In fact, though, 1967 was the last year the stamp cost 5¢.  Ah, LBJ and the Great Society!

In the 54 years since then, the stamp's cost has increased by 1,060%.  That's an inflation rate of almost 20% per year.  Yet the U.S. Postal Services' net operating loss during its latest fiscal year was $9.2 billion.  And the net present value of its debt plus its future unfunded liabilities today totals $188 billion.

Strikes me as a fair metaphor for prodigal governance and modern monetary theory in general.  After all, the U.S. government's net operating loss during its latest fiscal year was $3.1 trillion.

And the net present value of its debt plus its unfunded future liabilities now totals as much as $230 trillion.  Yes, that's trillion — as in $230,000,000,000,000.

Meanwhile, China already owns more gold than any other nation.  It's now buying additional gold like hotcakes (er, wontons). 

And we're financing that via a national debt increasing proportionally with the production we're exporting to China while putting our own producers on welfare and telling our consumers they're getting bargain goods from abroad.

Wow, what a brilliant strategy!  For becoming a great-nation "has been," that is.  All the pooh-bahs know it, too — at least in their gut.  They're just in denial, too busy buying mega-mansions and mega-yachts, or old enough that they know they'll be pushing up daisies when the bill comes due.  But if you plan on being around for another six decades or so, you might want to consider buying yuan futures.  Because the next century's likely to belong to China, and the yuan may become the world's reserve currency.

Turns out totalitarianism in a homogeneous neo-Marxist state may be a better postmodern bet than democracy in a heterogeneous capitalist state.  And all the pooh-bahs may know that, too.

That may be partly what the West's presently deranged cultural angst's all about.  We may be locked into a historically self-defeating social paradigm.  And all we may be able to do is keep doubling down on our own destruction.

Like, you know, diversity is our strength and multiculturalism is our salvation.

Image: Frantisek_Krejci via Pixabay, Pixabay License.

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