Pick One! Rock Or Hard Place….

In 2019, I was diagnosed with Stage IV tongue cancer. The treatment option we chose was the most aggressive, heavy chemo and radiation. While very challenging, studies showed a 90%+ success rate, zapping the cancer – along with my salivary glands. I would have difficulty swallowing and contend with mucositis for the rest of my life.

The choice was cancer versus aggressive treatment. The doctor said the decision is choosing between a rock and a hard place.” We picked the hard place.

Things went as predicted; the cancer disappeared. I was fed by a stomach tube for several months, followed by intensive swallowing therapy. Eating returned very slowly. Finally, after five years, I can (very carefully) eat a burger or slice of pizza.

We rejoiced at my five-year checkup; I never thought I would be able to come back this far. Swallowing challenges, sometimes choking, and constantly clearing my throat is a constant.

Using his best doctor voice, he said, “Dennis, as I explained, it will never go away, it’s just the gift that keeps on giving.”

Our new Indiana doctor scheduled me for a swallowing test. While the problem will never totally go away, there may be some things that will help reduce the symptoms – stay tuned!

Tough choices everywhere!

Money & Metals writes:

“Corporate bankruptcies hit a 14-year high in 2024, and the pace continued through the first seven months of 2025.

This should throw cold water on those who imagine the U.S. economy is booming, and it underscores the Catch-22 facing the Federal Reserve as it wrestles with interest rate policy to battle sticky price inflation.

S&P Global data includes companies with public debt and assets or liabilities of at least $2 million or private companies with assets or liabilities of at least $10 million at the time of filing.

…. Companies are struggling in this higher interest rate environment. Uncertainty surrounding tariffs is also straining companies.

U.S. businesses are buried under a massive debt load totaling $21.75 trillion as of the end of the first quarter….

This is one of the reasons the markets are desperate for interest rate cuts.

…. The Fed is between a rock and a hard place. The debt strain (not only on corporations, but also on consumers and the U.S. government) provides a strong argument for rate cuts. However, inflation clearly isn’t dead.

Ironically, the Fed is a primary reason businesses are saddled with so much debt to begin with. The central bank held interest rates at zero for nearly a decade after the 2008 Financial Crisis and dropped them back to that level during the pandemic. Even at the height of the Fed’s tightening cycle, monetary policy remains historically loose.

…. This incentivized borrowing, blowing up this massive debt bubble.

The current situation puts the Federal Reserve in an impossible situation. It simultaneously needs to hold rates steady to keep price inflation at bay and lower rates to keep the air in the debt bubble.

It can’t do both.”

Never-ending politics….

Politicos and the media like to blame their political opponents for current problems or claim victory during good times. Don’t get caught up in their BS or solutions. Economic cycles and election cycles seldom coincide.

Problem Solving 101

Here are a couple of fundamental rules for solving a problem.

• If you don’t solve the cause, you don’t solve the problem.
• Look for the effects of your decision; sometimes you may cause a bigger problem.

Money & Metals rightfully criticized the Fed’s lax interest rate policies. Corporations took advantage of cheap money and wasted it on extra dividends and ill-advised stock buybacks, and now the bill is due. Let’s dive deeper into a sequence of events:

1913 – Under a cloud of secrecy, the Federal Reserve was created. The torrid details are outlined in G. Edward Griffin’s book “The Creature From Jekyll Island”. Here are some excerpts from the forward:

“It is not federal and there are no reserves. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve Banks are not even banks.

…. Monetary and political scientists continue to expound the theoretical merits of the Federal Reserve System. It has become a modern act of faith that economic life simply could not go on without it. But the time for theory is past. The Creature moved into its final lair in 1913 and has snorted and thrashed about the landscape ever since.

If we wish to know if it is a creature of service or a beast of prey, we merely have to look at what it has done. And, after the test of all those years, we can be sure that what it has done, it will continue to do.”

Like my cancer treatment, the Federal Reserve will continue to be “The gift that keeps on giving!”

The Fed’s nifty website is designed to hoodwink the public into believing they are confidently at the helm of our economic system, guiding the ship for the public good.

Griffin sees this differently, “The Federal Reserve is a cartel- it’s a banking cartel. And like all cartels, it only has one purpose – and that is to serve the benefit of the members of the cartel, period!

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Roaring 20’s – Soon after the Fed was created, the banking system was flooded with money. Easy money led to high-risk investments and the stock market soared – the nation felt euphoric prosperity, until…

1930 – Federal Reserve History reports:

“Banking Panics of 1930-31

The U.S. appeared to be poised for economic recovery following the stock market crash of 1929, until a series of bank panics in the fall of 1930 turned the recovery into the beginning of the Great Depression.”

1933 – <sirens blaring> Banking Emergency… Federal Reserve History details how Congress swooped in like Mighty Mouse to save the day!

“The emergency legislation that was passed within days of President Franklin Roosevelt taking office in March 1933 was just the start of the process to restore confidence in the banking system.

Congress saw the need for substantial reform…which eventually came in the Banking Act of 1933, knows as the Glass-Steagall Act. The bill was designed “to provide for the safer and more effective use of the assets of banks, to regulate interbank control, to prevent the undue diversion of funds into speculative operations, and for other purposes.”

Banks had to choose. Wikipedia explains:

“The separation of commercial and investment banking prevented securities firms and investment banks from taking deposits and commercial Federal Reserve member banks from:

• dealing in non-governmental securities for customers;
• investing in non-investment grade securities for themselves;
• underwriting or distributing non-governmental securities;
• affiliating (or sharing employees) with companies involved in such activities.”

The Glass-Steagall Act also birthed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to protect depositors.

Glass-Steagall was akin to a massive dose of chemotherapy. While it didn’t kill the cancer, it did a great job of keeping it under control. Bank failures significantly dropped from over 4,000 in 1933 to just 61 in 1934.

1999 – Glass-Steagall Repealed. We read a lot about the drug cartels impacting/influencing corrupt foreign governments. While the banking industry’s methods may differ, their motives and effects are the same. It took over $300 million in “lobbying” to convince Congress to repeal Glass-Steagall in 1999.

Here’s what followed:

• Banking was allowed across state lines and thousands of local banks were gobbled up into huge national banks.
• Investment and commercial banks merged. Five banks now control almost half of the country’s banking assets and are deemed “too big to fail”.
• Much like the roaring 20’s the economy boomed, fueled by cheap credit, until the 2008 banking crisis.
• Congress, heavily influenced by banking cartel lobbyists declared an emergency. Despite heavy public outcry, they governed against the will of the majority, and bailed out the banks by flooding the system with money.
• Interest rates dropped to zero, once again fueling speculative borrowing – the gift that keeps on giving!

Which brings us back to where we started, corporate bankruptcies are rising and inflation is NOT under control.

As Griffin suggested, “look at what it has done.” The Fed is owned by “member banks,” controlled by bankers, focusing primarily on protecting bank profits. They spend millions fighting any potential regulation.

While Money & Metals suggests the Fed is “Caught between a rock and a hard place,” don’t misunderstand the real tough choices. The implication is that fiddling with interest rates is the tough balance between a good economy and inflation.

I call BS.

The unspoken Catch-22 for the Fed is how do they protect bank profits, while pretending to be concerned about everyday Americans. Catch-22 defined: “a difficult situation in which the solution to a problem is impossible because it is also the cause of the problem.”

Griffin said the Fed should be abolished, it’s not only incapable of accomplishing its stated objectives, it’s really a cartel operating against the public interest. Look at history, the cycle never stops….

Tweaking interest rates is akin to giving a baby aspirin to a giant whale to cure a headache. Replacing the Fed chairman changes the analogy to Advil; both have zero impact on curing the real problem.

If they don’t abolish the Fed, it must be restructured and “independent” from both government and the mega-banks.

Congress needs to admit their mistake and fix it. Glass-Steagall worked like turbo-chemo. Rock or hard place? Pick one, can’t do both, but do something that will work. We need a massive restructuring quickly or the next depression will make 1929 seem like child’s play!

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On The Lighter Side…

I wrote this draft a couple weeks ago anticipating our Florida trip where I won’t be able to write. It’s ironic that this popped up in this week’s queue.

Last Monday I had my PET scan. The good news is it showed no signs of cancer. I was supposed to go to the cancer center Friday for my infusion and we planned to be rolling south on Saturday.

Last Thursday I got the chills, which is a (somewhat rare) side effect of my treatment. My fever shot up and Jo called the cancer center. They sent me to the emergency room and my fever was back to normal when we arrived. I ended up staying for 48 hours as they pumped me full of antibiotics and tried to determine what caused the high fever.

The emergency room doctor was very persuasive, telling me I should stay for a while; “Your immune system is compromised. At your age, if you go home and this starts up, it could get really out of hand overnight.” I’m hearing “at your age” a lot lately. Guess I should wear it as a badge of honor. Might not qualify as a rock and hard place, but I didn’t like either choice. Better safe than sorry….

They also did a procedure where they checked my esophagus and stretched it out a bit. It’s the gift that keeps on giving for sure….

Infusion is postponed for a few days, so we will get a later start heading south. Glad it happened before we left, would not have enjoyed it while on the road.

Quote Of The Week…

Couldn’t pick one, so I chose to use both:

“Will I say there will never, ever be another financial crisis? No, probably that would be going too far. But I do think we’re much safer and I hope that it will not [happen] in our lifetimes and I don’t believe it will.” — Former Fed Chairperson Janet Yellen

“We’ve been very, very clear that we will not allow inflation to rise above two percent or less.” — Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke

And Finally…

Friend Phil C. sends some “home schooling” which many of us will relate to:

• My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.

“If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.”

• My mother taught me RELIGION.

“You better pray that will come out of the carpet.”

• My father taught me about TIME TRAVEL.

“If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”

• My father taught me LOGIC.

“Because I said so, that’s why.”

• My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.

“If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me.”

• My mother taught me FORESIGHT.

“Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”

• My father taught me IRONY.

“Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to cry about.”

• My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.

“Shut your mouth and eat your supper.”

• My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.

“Just you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!”

• My mother taught me about STAMINA.

“You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.”

• My mother taught me about WEATHER.

“This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.”

• My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.

“If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times, don’t exaggerate!”

And my favorite:

• My father taught me HUMOR.

“When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”

Until next time…

Dennis Miller

“Economic independence is the foundation of the only sort of freedom worth a damn.” – H. L. Mencken

 

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