Better to Remain Silent and Be Thought a Fool......

The economic illiteracy of the Harris campaign

At some point during my journey hurdling through the cosmos, I came upon the phrase “game recognize game” — in my case, it was because of the world of sports. (This is sometimes stated as “real recognize real”.)

As this phrase pertains to sports, this might take the form of a high-level player recognizing the the skills and abilities of a “new” competitor they’ve never played against before. (This happens a lot during end-of-season tournaments.)

When broken down to the fundamentals, this phrase basically states that when somebody has honed their craft through the hours and hours of work, that work is instantly recognizable by somebody else who has put in a similar amount of work. Additionally, these two people can have high-level conversations about their chosen craft. (A casual observer might marvel at a shortstop making a great play, but a great shortstop can tell you exactly WHY the play was made.)

One of the best baseball players ever, and Bobby Witt Jr.

As anybody at the top of their chosen field can tell you, putting in the work and experience is what makes you great. The cold April night games, the long Sunday doubleheaders, and the hot July day games when it seems like the season will stretch forever — they’re how you get the experience to handle an insanely difficult 20-game “gauntlet” that will determine the outcome of your season. (So far, 4-3!)

On another Substack comment section this week, somebody wrote (paraphrased) “Doing difficult things is how we bond and grow.” This is a perfect way to look at it: putting in the work is what gives you the confidence to win at the end of the season when the pressure is off the charts. (Raul Mondesi is the only player in MLB history who made his Major League debut in the World Series — he struck out in his only appearance.)

But “game recognize game” isn’t limited to sports. One of the most interesting things about society is the little pockets of “experts” that can be found in basically any area of life. I can point at a bird and say “bird”, but somewhere out there is somebody who could not only identify the species of bird, but could also tell me about its native habitat, lifespan, mating rituals — on and on for hours.

That’s the conversational ease that comes with knowing your topics inside and out.

On the other end of the spectrum, it’s also obvious when somebody is a complete fraud and HASN’T put in the work to actually become one of the best:

When push comes to shove and the bright lights are shining, the frauds are exposed for all the world to see. There is no amount of ‘woo-woo’ that can cover up a shocking lack of preparation.

This, of course, brings us to Kamala Harris — who has finally agreed to an interview……sort of:

I say “sort of”, because the interview will be pre-taped (and therefore edited) so the American public sees the best possible version of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. The Harris campaign is terrified of going off-script — and for good reason:

Our election is about understanding the importance of this beautiful country of ours in terms of what we stand for around the globe as a democracy.

As a democracy, we know there's a duality to the nature of democracy. On the one hand, incredible strength when it is intact. What it does for its people, to protect and defend their rights. Incredibly strong.

And incredibly fragile. It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it. And that's what this campaign is about.

These are the words of a fraud who’s trying to sound smart. These are the words of somebody who hasn’t gone through the rigorous demands of a real election cycle. These are the words of somebody who hasn’t been tested by a thousand town halls and VFW speeches and primary opponents looking to take your job. Kamala has never put in the work — and it shows. She’s trying to step onto the biggest stage without actually putting in the work that makes her qualified to be there.

Take a look at what the above passage actually SAYING — the Harris campaign is fighting for democracy! How? By kicking RFK Jr. off the ballot in New York —and forcing him to stay on the ballot in Michigan and Wisconsin!

How does that defend democracy? JOY!

As I wrote a few weeks ago, the DNC has solved its Biden-as-messenger problem, but the deeper message problem remains. It doesn’t help that Kamala-as-messenger isn’t mech better than Biden — you can hear the incompetence oozing out of Harris, even when she’s ON the teleprompter. (I love how the crowd claps on cue anyway!)

Mispronunciation aside, this video should send shivers down your spine. As I have repeatedly written, central planning is disastrous for an economy. Government does not have the knowledge (nor generally the inclination) to determine the “proper” price of a product or profit for a company that produces it. Historically, price controls lead to shortages.

Imagine that government declares a $2 cap on bread. (After all, everybody deserves to eat!) This might not be a problem as long as my cost to make a loaf of bread is only $1.50. But what happens once government devalues the dollar enough that my costs rise to $2.50? How many loaves of bread do I make then?

Zero.

Too often, government “takes over” an industry via excessive regulations, then spends all its time trying to re-create the industry it just destroyed. (Does the health insurance market sound familiar? After “price gouging” laws were passed, the insurance industry adapted but prices remain high — predictably.)

You may have heard insurance companies declare that they are committed to reducing medical claims. It’s something we hear all the time. And while that may have been a credible position before the 80/20 rule was implemented (and the insurance companies weren’t so limited in how much they could mark up their claims in the form of premiums), now this position seems a little more difficult to believe. Since their markup is limited to 20% of their claims at most, mathematically speaking, it seems they would actually want claims to be as high as possible. The more they pay in claims, the more they charge in premiums, and the more money they get to keep as profit.

Yet politicians — many of whom have literally no experience in the private sector — believe they know better than the people actually out living through the struggle. Take a listen at Kamala Harris describing opening a restaurant:

How long do you think that place stays open? Does it even make its first payroll?

This is what it sounds like when a fraud talks like an expert. Any restaurant owner could explain exactly what’s wrong with Kamala’s idea — but they’re too busy busting their asses trying to keep their own restaurants afloat, because making it in the real world IS HARD WORK.

The Harris campaign is afraid of Kamala being exposed as the fraud she is, and is relying on a sympathetic press to do the heavy lifting — even when that makes them hypocritical themselves:

If you prefer video form, enjoy this contrast-and-compare video created by Maze:

When TRUMP proposed the idea, the media focused on the cost to government. “That’s the money we use for Social Security!”

When Harris proposed the idea, the SAME IDIOT focused on the SAVINGS to the TAXPAYER. “That could be a down payment for a house!”

With the press running interference like this, it’s obvious that Kamala’s “Remain silent” strategy is the best one she has. (It’s not GOOD, it’s just the best strategy available to her.) Harris can’t learn a lifetime of policy knowledge in one month-long cram session — so inevitably when she opens her mouth, the obvious truth will come rushing out. (Sort of like Biden’s….diminished capacity.)

Tinfoil hat time: My guess is this year’s “October Surprise” is Biden actually stepping down and Harris finishing his term. This gives her the perfect excuse to cower away from the press and voters:

“Kamala is getting the best on-the-job training in the world and can’t be bothered by you pesky reporters.”

As crazy as it is, this “remain silent” strategy seems to be working so far. If it takes Kamala all the way into the White House, I’ve got a glimpse into what a future Harris administration might look like…….

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This didn’t really fit into today’s article, but it’s important and true so I’m going to post it anyway: