| By Bill Bonner Wednesday, November 18, 2020 We’ll sing in the sunshine We’ll laugh every day – Sonny and Cher SAN MARTIN, ARGENTINA – We are setting off today… after an unexpected nine-month stay in the mountains of Argentina. First, a five-hour drive to the regional capital, Salta. Then, a flight to Buenos Aires. On Friday, we will board another flight to Miami. If all goes well, we will be back in the U.S. by Saturday morning. Key Takeaways But we’re still here in the Calchaquí Valley this morning. And we’re still wondering… what to make of it all? What will be our “takeaways”? For one thing, we’ve found that you can live very well, even in a collapsing economy – as long as you don’t depend on the local currency or the government. Here, the wine is strong and the peso is weak. The weather is beautiful, but the politics are ugly. Living is easy, but earning a living is hard. Also, it’s not our country! We’re not responsible for it. We can laugh at the funny things foreigners do. That’s the nice thing about being overseas – you see life as a comedy, not a tragedy. Probably most important are the details… the specifics. It’s the particulars of your situation that count. Who are you with? What do you see when you look out the window? What do you do? Who are the neighbors? How is the food? And the weather? How much does it cost to live there? By all of those measures, our life in Argentina has been charming and delightful – even though the country is an absolute mess. From start to finish, the sun has shone almost every day. “It’s not going to be the same when you get back to the U.S.,” warns a friend. “People are either angry about the election… afraid of getting the virus… or both.” But we will continue telling our story. You can make of it what you will. | Recommended Link | | The Best $49 You Will Spend This Holiday Season For just $49… You could learn how to 172X your money. It has to do with a new kind of investment account. One that will allow you to earn up to 8.6% interest. That’s 172 times better than the average savings account. Thanks to a recent landmark decision… More and more people are investing in this account. In just minutes… you can learn how to set up your very own, high-yield account. | | | -- | Disappointing Morning First, this quick financial update… Having closed on Monday just 50 points short, the Dow was expected to punch through the 30,000 mark yesterday morning. Instead, it stepped on a rotten board and fell 440 points… then spent the rest of the day climbing out of the hole. One of the reasons given for the morning disappointment was that retail sales had not risen as hoped. But what did they expect? Without another federal giveaway, what are people expected to spend? The real economy – shorn of all the feds’ fuzzy wool – is a thin, shabby beast. It cannot produce a real recovery… let alone push the stock market to an all-time high. That leaves the feds to do the job – with their fake money. They can goose up consumer spending. They can jazz up the stock market. But they can’t boost real output… real earnings… or real wealth. Real wealth requires real savings, real sweat, real innovation… and time. You can’t just “print” it. Don't Be Left Empty Handed — Why Banks Bought 1,300 Tons of Gold. Dark Winter But that won’t stop them from trying. From Business Insider, here’s the new man warming up: President-elect Joe Biden on Monday called on Congress to pass a $3.4 trillion stimulus plan that House Democrats approved earlier this year. And he warned of a “dark winter” as virus cases reach new highs and prompt some states and cities to enact new restrictions to thwart its spread. He’s probably right about the dark winter. And while it is impossible to know how dark it will get, our advice is to prepare for a total eclipse. | Recommended Link | | Do you recognize this mysterious building? What do weather satellites… the Internet… cell phones… and the Mars 'Curiosity' rover… all have in common? They're all connected to this brown building below:
But the technology currently developed inside this mysterious building will change everything… This is bigger than blockchain and 5G. America's #1 tech investor, Jeff Brown, believes this the most important innovation in our lifetime… And it's worth a potential $15 trillion. | | | -- | Stuck in the Mud Now, back to our story. One of the unexpected results of the coronavirus pandemic here in the Calchaquí Valley is that the roads have been neglected. They are all dirt roads anyway. Without traffic, there was no need to tend them. So it was that when we decided to take a shortcut up to the ranch on Friday, we had scarcely gone a couple of miles when the road disappeared entirely. We tried one direction and then another. Neither led to the track we remembered. Finally, we decided to follow a dry river bed, figuring it would lead back to a more traveled path. We followed it downhill for a mile or two. We were right about where it led. But between the road and the river bed was an irrigation ditch that looked impassable. We could go back and around. But that would add almost an hour to our trip. We got out of the truck and examined the canal carefully. The Toyota truck has very good 4x4 traction… If we crossed at an angle, we figured we could make it. But when we were halfway over the hump on the far side of the ditch, our forward progress stopped and the wheels spun, sinking into the soft, damp earth at the bottom of the canal. Uh-oh. We had been driving for two hours already, and had only passed one truck coming in the other direction. We could be here for a long time. Strange Holdings In Buffett's Portfolio… Waiting Game One of the characteristics of the people in the valley is patience. They arrive at a river and find it uncrossable; they wait. In the dry season, wind and dust can make it impossible to go on; they wait. Spare parts, fuel, mail – important supplies need to come up from the city. Will they come this week… or next? So, they wait. Hours. Days. Weeks. They are used to waiting. That is true of the horses, too. They are ridden to the farm and tied up. They will wait – sometimes all day – until they are finally set free. Normally, we travel with a shovel in the back of the truck. But the shovel was not there. We couldn’t remember what had happened to it. All we had was a mason’s trowel… which was woefully inadequate for the job. What could we do, but wait? | Recommended Link | | Top tech companies circling this remote desert… Today this desert is empty. But by tomorrow morning, some of the largest tech companies in America could swarm the place. What you'd find beneath your feet here is worth $35 billion to Silicon Valley. And one small company owns the rights. | | | -- | To the Rescue But our waiting period was short. Along came an ambulance! And another car with the doctor and her assistants. They stopped. Out came the nurses and doctors, and a few burly fellows whose roles were unclear. And here we saw another of the qualities of the valley people – they are used to helping each other. They may fight each other bitterly… and share an almost universal contempt for the gringo… but they are all ready to help, as necessary. Here, you don’t pass a car that is broken down or stuck in the sand. You pick up hitchhikers. You offer wayfarers hospitality. The men were on the case immediately – one dressed as a surgeon… the others in their “street” clothes. “Let’s all push from behind.” “No, try to go forward.” “Get out the jack; we’ll put rocks under the wheels.” Everyone had an opinion. And it was clear to us that none of them were very good. “I think the best bet would be for the ambulance to pull it out,” we suggested. But they largely ignored us… until… after trying to push and pull… …finally, they backed up the ambulance and easily pulled the truck out of the ditch. “Gracias… Muchas gracias…” we said, giving them all the fist-to-fist greeting that has become de rigueur in the Age of Coronageddon. On our way back to the farm on Sunday, we dropped off a case of wine in the health clinic to thank them. Stay tuned. Regards, Bill
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If you’ve been reading Bill’s Diary at all this year, you’ve read that the economy post-COVID-19 will never be the same. The pandemic has created long-term changes across the economy. Now, the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell admits the same. But what exactly does this mean? Doug Casey on Challenging Ideas With a Memorable Story
Bill’s longtime friend and colleague, Doug Casey, has published another book in his fictional novel series, High Ground. There are people, says Doug, who enjoy hearing challenging ideas… but prefer to have them in a story. If this sounds like you, read on… MAILBAG In Tuesday’s mailbag, dear reader Mel E. said, “Trump has no truth in him.” Today, other dear readers respond… Who was the last, if any, president that had truth in them? I can't think of any. That is a hard claim to make with so many bad presidents, but I can easily think of several that were much worse than Trump, and Biden is guaranteed to be one of them, before he even starts. – John G. Isn’t it amazing how Mel believes Trump, who was very wealthy, used being president to enrich himself while donating his salary? He somehow fails to see the community organizer who became a multi-multi-millionaire by being in the White House. – Jasper M. So many of Americans feel like Mel. But I think he is behaving like a school child. He’s mad about things he knows absolutely nothing about! – John S. Meanwhile, others share their thoughts on Bill and Elizabeth’s trip back to the United States… Why you would want to leave your primitive paradise at this point in time, with things in chaos in the USA, I do not understand. I would think that the simplicity and raw connection to the ranching lifestyle would be much more enjoyable than having to face the protests, uncertainty, and death spiral of the economy back in the States. In fact, just today, I was thinking about what an adventure it would be to go to Argentina and visit the Bonner family in the dry elevations of South America and expose oneself to the challenges of the journey and cultural differences. I admire your ability to stay technologically connected to us all even though you are literally at about the end of the Earth. You and Elizabeth must be very brave to choose such a lifestyle… Wherever you are headed, travel safe and stay “situationally aware”! – Christina L. Bill, I suspect when you return, that you will find that you truly had a wonderful nine-month experience that you will look upon fondly for the remainder of your life. The reality of America’s bonkers cancel culture, riots, looting, and other political insanities today make me want to become a former citizen. Fortunately, I have found a bit of a bolthole out west and away from Philadelphia. However, not sure how long this will last. The loonies could be spotted at any moment. Be on your guard when you return. Wishing you the best and safe travels. – Michael B. What do you expect from Biden’s first term in the White House? How are you going to protect your wealth during the coming “dark winter”? Write us at feedback@rogueeconomics.com. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… Introducing: The Crypto Countdown Clock There are over 7,000 cryptocurrencies trading today. But crypto expert Teeka Tiwari has identified a small group with a “countdown clock” embedded in their code, counting down the time until they’re set to take off. All you have to do is take a tiny stake – before the countdown hits zero – and your life could completely change forever. Get the details here. 
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