It’s Not My Fault

Welcome to This Week’s Leyendecker View

When I read great literature, great drama, speeches, or sermons, I feel that the human mind has not achieved anything greater than the ability to share feelings and thoughts through language.
–James Earl Jones, RIP

THINKING OUT LOUD

It’s Not My Fault

Swear to God, I didn’t do it.

That’s right, I didn’t do it. No, no, no, no, not me. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE! Someone else is responsible for everything, not me. Me? I’m just the victim. You’re a victim, too, right?

Victimhood seems de rigueur these days. There’s currency in being a victim. And where there’s currency, there are people flocking to it. This phenomenon is captured in a 2018 book from a couple of sociologists, The Rise of Victimhood Culture. NYT columnist Frank Bruni took it on more recently inThe Age of Grievance.

I didn’t get promoted because so and so did such and such. Or I got laid off because the job market went into the toilet. Or the college conned me into borrowing money that I can’t pay back. Or I lost a bunch of money in the stock market because it went down. But, of course, when something good happens, it is because of us: I made a bunch of money when the stock market went up because of how smart I am.

What’s behind this mindset, this attitude where so many people today want to claim responsibility for what goes right (which is sometimes just right place, right time) but never for things that go wrong?

To an extent, humans have a natural fear of admitting defeat. We fear feeling stupid. Even worse, we fear looking stupid. There’s probably an evolutionary angle here—looking stupid could mean being kicked out of the tribe, which, in the pre-civilized world, could spell literal death. Back then, successfully blaming someone else could save one’s life.

The human penchant to find a scapegoat could be in our DNA.

This is especially pronounced in those who embrace victim culture. Those in this camp see bogeymen everywhere—

The hydrocarbon industries are responsible for the destruction of the Earth? Systemic racism is responsible for holding back black Americans For the history of humanity, Toxic masculinity is keeping women from being “equal.” Our children are in a mental health crisis because of social media. And so on as long as needed to avoid taking responsibility for anything.

Those who love to blame others for life’s ills also tend to favor big government. They believe only the government can target and destroy those they see as the perpetrators of whatever ails them.

This seems like a correlation worth inspecting.

If we expect government to do more for us—to bail out our college debt, to mandate hiring a certain amount of minorities, to drive up the minimum wage, and so on—then what is left for us to do for ourselves?

What does it suggest that the “victims” love to call Big Government to solve their personal problems? Can’t get hired? Screw merit, let’s call Big Government! Can’t pay off your debt? Who needs to work harder or try to get a higher-paying job when you can call Big Government!

But, here’s the conundrum…

The more we expect the government to do for us, the more we will lose our sense of personal responsibility. 

How simple is that equation?

The more we depend on the government, the less we need to depend on our personal decision-making. And if we avoid our personal decision-making responsibilities, then we will naturally not become so good at it.

It makes the argument that the less we depend on the government to do ALL the right things, the more inclined we will be to take more personal responsibility for our actions. In time, this will improve our own decisions because we will learn from each.

The more we expect the government to do for us, the more we will lose our sense of personal responsibility. And then we’re in a vicious cycle.

Life may seem easy when we expect the government to make all our decisions and clean up our messes. But then that may also be what makes us less responsible for our own actions.

And what happens to a person who feels not responsible for his or her outcomes? Eventually, these people feel fully disempowered. Feeling disempowered is not a recipe for a fulfilled, much less happy, life.

Maybe we should remember that old Ronald Reagan quote…

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.’”

THE ECONOMIC VIEW

US household income rises
But is still below 2019 level.

Small business sentiment drops
Lots of uncertainty these days.

Consumers remain resilient
By loading up on more debt
The American wallet.
Changes in cash flow since 2019

INFLATION, DEFLATION, OR BOTH?

Inflation continues to fall
Online grocery prices plunge
Oil to stay low, says JPMorgan
Time to worry about deflation?

Deflation fears rise in China
They need Keynesian stimulus NOW!
EU economy is weaker than expected
Is global deflation already underway?

THE LABOR VIEW

Is a job boom coming
For the defense industry?
Boeing union goes on strike

CEOs turn to magic mushroom retreats
To improve their leadership style.

Is the leader the smartest person in the room?
No one can have all the answers

MEANWHILE IN EUROPE

ECB cuts interest rates
They need economic stimulus.

BMW is starting to sputter
Are Western auto makers in trouble?
VW complains to regulators
Germany and Spain are against China EV tariffs

Is red tape strangling Europe’s growth?
Pose that question to a bureaucrat.
Europe is full of politically correct regulatory reporting
Do they need a new industrial strategy?
Germans don’t work hard enough
Says Deutsche Bank CEO.

THE GLOBAL GAME

Has Mexico shot itself in the foot, or worse?
Judicial reform worries investors

Is globalization on the rocks?
Can it survive the US-China rift?

The perils of isolationism
Condoleezza Rice opines.

THE UKRAINE FIRE

More Ukraine drones strike Russia
Ukraine hits Russian ammo depot
Taking the war to the motherland.
As Russia pushes further into Ukraine

Iran and Russia get chummier
Is India a Russian pawn?
How would President Harris handle this?

Zelensky wants to use long-range missiles
But he needs a US green light.
While Russia loads up on Iranian missiles

THE GAZA FIRE

Israel offers Hamas leader a deal
If he’ll release hostages.

Israel strikes kill more innocents
Hamas loves using human shields.

Israel strikes into Syria
To take out a chemical weapons factory?

THE SLIPPERY SLOPE

Kim Jung-un to expand nuclear arsenal
To protect them from what?

Russia adds cyber warfare to its top hacker team
To create chaos everywhere they want.

China and Belarus join up
For joint military training
This is a bigly development.

FINANCE

Fed walks back bank capital rules
Big banks are cheering!
How Wall Street won this debate

US corporate debt issuance at record
Get it now as uncertainty builds.

What makes some investors so great?
The stoic edge

REAL ESTATE

The CHIPS Act
Is creating a regional real estate boom

The mostly natural swimming pool
Looks like the next luxury trend.

A one-bedroom cabin
May be the ultimate luxury

IS TECH A WRECK?

Should social media be banned for kids
Like cigarettes and alcohol?
Australia plans a minimum age limit

Apple’s iPhone sales are sagging.
They hope AI revives them
It may be wishful thinking

Apple must pay Ireland $14.4B
So says a European court.

THE CHAT ON AI

Big tech’s AI spending spree
Where’s the revenue model?

A $10MM streaming royalty heist
Was just busted by the Feds

AI could help us talk to animals
Holy moly!

OUR GOOD FRIEND, FAILURE

UK’s socialized medicine system is broken
Whose medical system isn’t?

Why can’t the US build ships anymore?
Because we’re too expensive.

The world may not be falling apart
Fear of moral decline has always been around.

THE NEXT NORMAL

Religious movies are invading Hollywood
What happened to the woke narrative?

Is being a beer girl the new it thing
Cosmos be damned!

The deep-blue birth dearth
Democrat-run cities have fewer babies.

THE WAR ON CARBON

Italy wants out of EU ICE ban
Another country gets practical.

Greenpeace USA on verge of bankruptcy
A victim of their own tactics.

UK will be off coal power this year
A pretty momentous occasion.

THE ENERGY TRANSITION

Another green energy champion crashes
It underestimated costs.
Broken wind turbines setback that industry
Swedish battery maker cuts back

Houston geothermal firm shows progress
More geothermal is coming soon.

Can an old nuclear plant be restarted?
Would be cheaper than building a new one.
Tennessee leads nuclear revival

THE EV DREAM—OR DELUSION

Don’t look at this photo
Of what EV mineral mining does to Mother Earth.

EU car lobby seeks emissions target delay
There’s not enough demand for EVs.

Newest EVs promise 700 miles a charge
But they also use gas.

THE CHINA SYNDROME

China plants spies in US companies
To steal intellectual property.

Foreign companies struggle in China
The Western China gold rush is over.

Will China’s manufacturing be its savior?
Probably not for long.
China’s exports grow
China has a giant commodity stockpile

THE WASHING-TONE

A White House-Gaza deal looks elusive.
Good luck negotiating with a psychopath

Judges say you can’t build that
Is bureaucracy in extreme overreach?

Google employees turned off history
So investigators wouldn’t find collusion.

THE ELECTION DISTRACTION

Russia, Iran and China
Ramp up effort to divide US voters

Here comes a US sovereign wealth fund
Trump jumping on Biden’s idea, or vice versa?
With massive annual budget deficits
Is this idea even doable?

Ready to bet on the US elections?
A federal judge opens the door

MAKING A BETTER YOU

The flow state
Achieving maximum productivity.

Key to our mental health
Could be in our circadian rhythms

How much empathy
Is too much empathy?

HOW ABOUT A BREAK

The murder rate is crashing

Why are fewer murders happening?

The oldest known hominid burial site

The oldest known human burial site

The reparative power of knitting

Something tangible comes from the process.

THE EXTRAORDINARY

Archeologists recently deciphered
The oldest known map in the world.

The most profound wonder
Can be found in the ordinary.

James Earl Jones, RIP at 93
My favorite: “People will come.”

MUSIC BOX

Mixed Up Everything’s “Soak My Brain.”
Four brothers from Australia, 100MM views, bro.
How about another, “Having Fun.”
One more please, “Normality.”
Baby oh baby oh baby!

After jail and before his career resurrection
Robert Downey, Jr. put out an album
“Give Peace a Chance” is one tune.

CASTING AROUND THE PODS

The JD Vance interview
The All-In guys interview the Hillbilly.

VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

The Perfect Couple trailer.
Nicole Kidman and a DILF murder mystery.

Eggs, eggs and more eggs
A fun movie compilation.

Gravity-defying dance
Don’t try this at home.

FROM THE HEADHUNTER’S KITCHEN

The easiest cuts of steak
To cook at home.

Simple seasoned grilled fish
In case you want a meat break.

Favorite recipes of great chefs
Simple works just fine for them.

THE RANDOMS

There’s an old saying that most of the time America elects the president it deserves. But every so often it elects the president it needs. Wondering if we’re still in the deserve category these days.

What will the selfie generation grow up to be like?

Trump wants no taxes on overtime work. Vote for me, blue-collar workers! Harris says she would reduce capital gains tax increase. Vote for me, Wall Street! Is buying votes just how democracy works?

Here’s an interesting story: China wants its EV makers to keep key technologies at home. Are they afraid Western automakers might steal and/or copy their intellectual property? Now why would they even think that?

People seem to like to ask people’s age, even if many people consider it rude. I finally have a worthwhile answer for when people ask me my age: I’m old enough to understand the risks but young enough not to fear them.

Sometimes I wonder if the billionaires and bureaucrats are totally in charge of our economy. It seems the billionaires can’t stand labor, while the bureaucrats can’t stand private enterprise. If this is true, what kind of future can we look forward to?

When there is no common enemy, an enemy will be found from within. I’ve often thought this is behind current US internal discourse. Whatcha think?

Maybe people just can’t live without turmoil. This might make sense, given that all our real learning comes from the mistakes we make or trials we endure.

If we don’t stumble, how will we develop the muscle memory that prevents us from falling?

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

We’re Just Too Busy
September 6, 2024

Is Our Economy Really Working?
August 30, 2024