American Consequences - May 2020

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

M ost of the nation has been locked down for two months now... and a few states are finally starting to open back up. But is America ready to get back to business? That’s the question we try to answer in this issue... Editor in chief P.J. O’Rourke shares why he’s philosophically at odds with the pandemic. He writes in his letter from the editor... My libertarian principles are rankled by federal, state, and local government stay- at-home orders. On the other hand, I’m 72 years old, I smoke, I drink, and I’ve spent almost six decades on the Hunter S. Thompson health and fitness plan. Don’t miss our short piece about the new upside-down mirror world we’ve found ourselves in and what the death of trust means... while Pat Buchanan wonders what will be the new American cause? And to balance out our pessimism, our own Laura Greaver finds a few small joys in the long quarantine days. Professor Joel Litman, the man who knows what Wall Street doesn’t want to tell you, details a section of the market with extraordinary upside... but many investors never understand how to invest in the Wild West of Wall Street. Nearly half the 100 largest companies in the U.S. could have been bought when they were more than 50 times smaller... which means they could have provided more than 5,000% upside. Kim Iskyan profiles a face-mask broker in Hong Kong who has bought and sold more than 100 million masks.

Financial analyst Dan Ferris details why failure in this one industry shows a clear path to societal death. Dr. Ron Paul explains why the Federal Reserve is far more lethal to us all than coronavirus. And Dr. David Eifrig takes a step back from crisis... It’s one of the most level-headed essays we’ve read on how reasonable Americans should think about the world and stock market today. Then we turn to lighter matters... P.J. writes about his experience playing Mr. Mom after his wife was exposed to COVID-19. Make sure you don’t miss our Viral Humor section. And as always, we’re watching Twitter, so you don’t have to. Professor Nada R. Sanders notes the three characteristics of today’s supply chains to blame for out-of-stock flour, toilet paper, and prescription drugs. And we share an investigation from ProPublica into how profiteering and incompetence delayed N95 masks for Veterans Affairs hospitals. Finally, executive editor Buck Sexton shows why we may all be in for a rude awakening as America starts its long uphill battle to reopen and return to normal. We’ve uploaded a PDF suitable for printing our archive page. And tell us what you think at feedback@ americanconsequences.com. Regards, Steven Longenecker Publisher, American Consequences

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May 2020

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