The divide between the elite and the rest of the people became intolerable. The guillotine solved the problem. How will the widening canyon between America’s elites and the “little people' be solved?
 

The assertion that men are objectively equal is so absurd that it does not even merit being refuted. 

—Vilfredo Pareto 

This just in, MSNBC: 

CBO: Increased Immigration will boost US growth 

Once again, statistics take on a life of their own... and become a policy goal. 

We listened to the talking heads explaining it. A young woman declared that US fertility rates were declining. She seemed to think this —  another statistic — was cause for great concern. 

Who will pay taxes? Who will increase US GDP growth? Where will we get our teachers, firemen, and hedge fund managers? Who will pay the interest on our national debt... now more than $1 trillion per year? 

So many dumb ideas... so many silly numbers. America’s elites created a debt-drenched economy that needs growth — in credit, in sales, GDP and tax revenues — just to stay in business. And now we need to have more children... and open the borders, say the public policy experts, in order to pay for past policies.   

“American women have only 1.6 children,” explained the authority. (Another statistical mirage... we’ve never met a couple with 1.6 children.) “We need two children per couple, just to stay even. We’ll have to make up the shortage with immigrants.”  

There are 330 million people in the US.  But we need more! 

Spare a thought for the poor Swiss. Yes, they live longer. They have more money. They are not involved in foreign wars. They have little crime. Their streets are clean and safe.  Their borders are orderly. 

But... Swiss women have only 1.5 children... and the Swiss GDP is only 2% of US GDP. And if every penny of Swiss GDP were put to the task it wouldn’t even pay the interest on our debt pile. 

Keeping the show on the road — with more spending, more debt, more firepower…and now, more immigrants — is the main goal of US elites. Policy choices follow.  

Elitism

Two weeks ago, we laid out one of our ‘shared secrets.’ Today, we give you another one: elitism. Excess immigration may actually lower wages and living standards for the average American. But immigrants are a source of low-wage labor... and help the system survive.  The elites are for it. 

It is not flattering to be called an ‘elitist.’ It generally signals that you think you are better than others... and should be granted special privileges. 

Here at Bonner Private Research we use the word in a purely descriptive manner. Elitism is not a disease... it is not a sin... it is not a mistake. It is just how societies operate.  

Our guiding light in this regard is the great Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto. You probably know him as the author of the 80/20 rule. Always and everywhere, he said, 80% of the work will be done by 20% of the people... 80% of your profits will come from 20% of your investments... etc. 

No matter what you call your government, there are always a few people — an elite — that actually runs things. Louis 14th, for example, was an ‘absolute monarch.’ But Louis did not collect his taxes himself... nor win his wars... nor design and stitch his uniforms. His rule was made possible by what Javier Milei calls the ‘casta politica’ — the political caste.  

Likewise, they were the apparatchiks and nomenklatura who ran the Soviet Union. And they were the Nazi Party members who ran Hitler’s Germany.  

Today, in the US, we have politicians, lobbyists, CEOs, influencers, economists, kibitzers and hobnobbers. They allow citizens to vote... often with surprising and disruptive results. But the main decisions and lasting policies are determined by the elites. They control the public conversation. 

A Widening Canyon

Typically, when a society is new, and/or small... there is little difference between the elite 20% and the rest of the population. They are neighbors, friends, business associates... the parish priest... the local judge... the small-town mayor.  

But over time, the elites pass more and more laws... and write more and more regulations... gradually gaining more and more control over the rest. Gradually, too, their views and interests diverge.  

That is what happened in France before the revolution. The aristocracy grew more and more distant from their own properties... and from the lives of their tenants and peasants. They lived in great splendor, wearing precious silks and velvets... and eating sumptuous meals (even while millions of ordinary people — in the 1780s – shivered and starved). They granted themselves special privileges... and even exempted themselves from taxes. 

Eventually, the divide between the elite and the rest of the people became intolerable. The guillotine solved the problem. 

How will the widening canyon, between America’s elites and the “little people,” be closed?  

Tune in tomorrow. 

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Decline Of The West
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