A Rare Trifecta

Peace in Europe, Prudence in America, and Revolution on the Pampas

(Politicians dancing on puppet strings: Substack Image Generator)

Joel Bowman with today’s Note From the End of the World: Buenos Aires, Argentina...

Whoah! Are we watching a rare trifecta?

First, and perhaps most importantly, comes news out of Europe. After months of knuckle dragging and chest thumping, it appears that the Eurocrats may have reversed course on their plans to transition from, per the Financial Times, a “welfare state to a warfare state.”

The latest, from the BBC:

Europe Reverses War Footing as Leaders Pivot to Peace

(Brussels) – European leaders convened an emergency summit overnight as key figures rallied behind a comprehensive plan for lasting peace in Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, were among the leaders who called for an end to the bloodshed on the Ukrainian-Russian border.

Speaking on the sidelines of the emergency summit, Ursula von der Leyen told reporters, “The European Union was conceived as a project of peace. We cannot turn it into a machine of war.”

President Macron echoed von der Leyen’s statement. “Now is the time for cool heads,” he said. “We cannot, and will not, be reckless in our actions when the threat of nuclear annihilation looms.”

Speaking for the UK, Prime Minister Starmer called for a united front. “We are inviting our European partners to join us in forming a new Coalition for Peace.”

President Vladimir Putin, who had just last week called for BRICS nations to join in the peace talks, was reportedly weighing Europe’s proposal. Putin is due to speak with President Donald Trump later today and to make an announcement from the Kremlin shortly thereafter.

Defense stocks sold off sharply on the news, with the “Big 5” defense contractors down double digits in early trading.

Christopher Calio, president of Raytheon, told CNBC’s Squawk on the Street:

“We’re not concerned about the negative developments in Europe. International security interests are a long term investment and we’re confident in the prospect of future conflicts.”

A statement from Lockheed Martin said the company was, “Actively seeking investment opportunities in the Middle East and undisclosed regions across Africa.”

Zero Deficit

Meanwhile, back in the Land of the Free, President Donald Trump has committed to balancing the budget with a “zero deficit” policy.

After meeting with members of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), President Trump held a snap press conference aboard Air Force One.

A partial (and apparently unedited) transcript of Trump’s remarks was released over Truth Social and reposted on X earlier today:

Trump: The people at the CBO, great people, some of our best people, actually, tell me that our national debt is on track to hit a record fifty-one trillion by 2035.

That’s fifty-one trillion, with a ‘T’. Can you believe it? I couldn’t believe it. I said, “I can’t believe it. This can’t be true, can it?”

But it was. It is. And it’s a horrible thing. Never should have happened.

And it wouldn’t have happened if I had been president. If I had been president for the whole time. I mean, instead of Biden, a man who is possible, probably, our worst president... definitely our worst president, maybe ever.

You know, Biden added trillions, to our national debt. Trillions and trillions. Maybe even more than trillions. Who knows? These are big numbers. Trillions are big numbers, believe me. Never should have happened.

So I said to our friends at the CBO, great people, I said, “What can we do?”

And they said, “Sir, we can’t keep posting these insane deficits. They’ve got to go.”

And then they said to me, “Sir, can you help us? You’ve got to help us, sir. We’re drowning,” they said. “Drowning!”

Can you believe it?

So I said, “Look, here’s what we’re going to do...” And I told them. I said, “No more deficits. The deficits stop now.”

Then I called Elon. You know my friend, Elon. Our friend, actually, when you think about it. Great guy. Rich guy. Knows a lot about money. And I said, “We’ve gotta make these deficits go away.”

And he said to me, “Mr. President.” He said, “Mr. President, sir. Just don’t sign the budget unless it’s balanced.”

So that’s what we’re going to do. Any budget that lands on my desk from now on, if it isn’t balanced, if it isn’t fully paid for, it goes right back to Congress. Right back to Chuck and Crooked Nancy and Pocahontas and all the rest of them.

And if they say, “Mr. President, we need ‘this,’” or “Mr. President we need ‘that,’” we’ll say, “not if you can’t pay for it.”

And that’s how we’ll balance the budget and Make America Great Again.

The US dollar rallied strongly across international forex markets following the news. Gold and crypto both fell, hard.

¡Viva la revolución!

And finally, in something of a shock to your congenitally optimistic editor, Argentina’s President Javier Milei appears to have finally succumbed to the lures of the political caste.

In an astonishing about face, the man who once called the state “the problem, not the solution,” who dubbed socialists “pieces of sh!t” who would “kill you the moment they get a chance,” has removed his mask for all the world to see.

In an address to a saddened nation at the stroke of midnight last night, Milei told his stunned supporters (translated):

You’ve been had, amigos!

All this libertarian nonsense was a farce from the get-go.

Sound money? Personal responsibility? Individual freedom?

How could you have gone in for such an obvious crock?

Politics is about power, not truth. And remember what Mao said, “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.”

So here we are. And I’ve got the gun. The military is standing by.

Effective immediately, all foreign direct investments in Argentina are to be nationalized.

Similarly, all bank accounts are to be surrendered to the state. Citizens will be issued with ration cards, as they are in Cuba… and forced to watch the Evita movie… on repeat.

¡Viva la revolución!

Also, Greta Thunberg is a climatologist, Jimmy Fallon’s laugh is genuine and men really can give birth.

Oh, and if you haven’t already guessed, Happy April Fools Day!

Stay tuned for more Notes From the End of the World...

Cheers,

Joel Bowman

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