WELCOME TO AMERICAN CONSEQUENCES
From Editor in Chief P.J. O’Rourke
I make fun of things for a living. But over the years, I’ve found that making fun of things can be an excellent way to understand them. And making fun also allows me to be a neutral referee. I don’t take sides. The absurd is the absurd whether you find it on the left, on the right, or in the middle. An absurdist is well prepared to see that ideas matter. Just take any idea and reduce it to the absurd and you’ll see what really matters and what doesn’t. For example, if enough Americans get the idea that the North American Free Trade Agreement is a way for Canadians to destroy the American ice industry and gain a global monopoly on hockey rinks, there will be consequences – like a run on ice-cube trays at Target and strong feelings against folks in plaid flannel shirts and earflap hats who say “eh” at the end of their sentences. The other writers for American Consequences will give you something more substantive than that to think about. But I promise you I won’t. Regards, P.J. O’Rourke
Dear reader, Welcome to the first issue of our magazine. Stansberry Research and I are doing something different in the field of financial news and newsletters. For about 20 years, Stansberry Research has been known for its investment tactics and strategies and for its examination of the macro- and microeconomic trends that drive marketplace shifts. But there’s more to Stansberry Research than wise analysis and practical stock, bond, and commodity advice. Behind the expertise are Stansberry’s people. And behind the people are ideas. Ideas matter. Ideas shape the market. Those ideas also have social, moral, intellectual, and political effects. The ideas people have lead to the ways people behave. And the ways people behave lead to... American Consequences . We’re establishing a forum where good minds tackle current ideas and think through the results those ideas will have. I’m the editor of this magazine not because I know a lot about business, finance, and economics, but precisely because I don’t.
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