The flagship Fantasy Free Economics blog got hacked and will be down for a short time. The light of reality has a lot of opposition. I am used to these things. My experts tell me it will be up again by Wednesday of next week.
Monster in the Machine:
We are standing at a precipice. This is our last chance.
Why a World Without Stress Is a World Without Progress
Free markets reduce inequality. AI promises to remove effort. One of these statements is about to ddestroy the other.
The only proven engine for reducing inequalities across history has been free markets. Yet today we stand at the threshold of a technology that could make the very effort required for markets—and for human flourishing—obsolete: artificial intelligence.
February 2026 • Straight talk, no spinThe U.S. government has exactly two ways to pay for what it spends: it can tax you today, or it can borrow and tax you tomorrow.
Politicians almost always choose the second option. Raising taxes is political suicide; borrowing feels free — until the bill comes due.
That bill is the federal debt. Every dollar borrowed today is a promise that someone will pay it back later. That “someone” is you, your kids, and your grandkids.
Last night, while suffering through another soul-crushing “big game,” my brain wandered off and landed on something that’s been bugging me since I was a kid reading comics.
The elite love announcing exactly what they’re going to do to us… years in advance. It’s like their favorite little gotcha. They can’t help themselves. They have to rub our noses in it first.
Remember those old comic books? Every single supercrook would stand on a rooftop, cackling, laying out their entire evil plan in glorious detail. And you’d think, “Why the hell would you tell the hero exactly how you’re going to destroy the world? That’s stupid.”
Look, if you understand even the basics of natural law, the official story collapses in about three seconds. Nature wired every creature on this planet with an instant read on risk and reward. A dog hears gunfire once and bolts for cover. Expose him to it as a puppy and the fear fades, but the wiring is still there. Humans? We’ve spent centuries training ourselves to ignore that wiring and believe whatever the guy in the suit tells us. But the wiring never fully dies.
That’s why the Epstein “suicide” narrative is dead on arrival for anyone who still has a pulse.
We are taught to look at the world through a veil of “learned sensibilities”—civilized filters that tell us what to think, how to feel, and what to ignore. But beneath this thin veneer of training lies a reality that every soul recognizes, yet few dare to name
The Eternal Power Struggle: Every baby is born into an ongoing, eternal conflict. It is the backdrop of all life. There is no neutral ground; there is only the movement of power.
In the grand theater of modern economics, governments no longer merely set interest rates or adjust tax brackets. They have become the unseen directors of a far more intimate production: the management of public emotion. What the public believes, fears, hopes, or expects about the economy has become a policy lever as powerful as any fiscal tool. This is not conspiracy theory. It is standard operating procedure across every major economy on Earth.If you had to choose between living through the worst year of the Great Depression in America or the best year of the Soviet Union, which would you pick?
At first glance, it seems like a no-brainer. The Great Depression (the 1930s) was a time of 25% unemployment, “Hoovervilles,” and dust storms. But when we look at the actual living standards, the comparison is surprising. Even at our lowest point, American life had “bones” that the Soviet Union struggled to build even at its peak in the 1970s.
During the Great Depression, the problem wasn’t that America didn’t have “stuff”—it was that people couldn’t afford to buy it. The factories, the paved roads, and the electrical grids were already there.
By contrast, even during the Soviet Union’s “best” years in the 1970s, many modern comforts were still luxury items.
In 1932 America, people were hungry because they were broke, leading to the famous “breadlines.” In the Soviet Union, people were often hungry because the system couldn’t get food to the stores. Continue reading
I answer questions on Quora. The elites of the world ask questions, certainly AI based. Why? Perhaps they are testing AI based chatting software. Maybe they are holding a finger up in the air to tell which way the wind is blowing. Or, they could be figuring out ways to launch multitudes of AI based chats across cyberspace. Millions of AI posers espousing anointed opinions, as a new way to impose their will on society.
I have answered questions for Bill Gates and Vice President Vance. The following question was asked by Elon Musk. Continue reading
Posted on January 30, 2026 by jamesq
This applies to all of us in the great unwashed – not so much the country’s leaders. Among the general population, the right and left have a great deal in common. Start with ignorance. Reading is a waning activity.
86% of Americans now get their news digitally, with only 7% relying on print newspapers.
Over 50% of adults get news from social platforms like Facebook or YouTube, where the “reading” involved is often limited to headlines or short captions rather than full articles. The proportion of U.S. adults who read for pleasure daily dropped by 40% between 2003 and 2023. Engagement fell from roughly 28% of the population in 2004 to just 16% in 2023. Continue reading
Ronald Reagan set the precedent first by embracing the Full Employment act of 1978 – which changed the economy from free market…. to planned. Since that time, the rich have done the planning. All administrations since have followed Reagan’s lead. It has been nothing but deficit spending and money printing ever since. The rise of the government -made billionaires followed. Continue reading
“When Times Got Really Weird” is a folk-style narrative song that serves as an allegory for societal collapse, the loss of self-reliance, and the dangerous allure of authoritarianism in times of crisis.
The lyrics depict a progression from economic hardship to spiritual desperation, and finally to a total loss of freedom. Below is an interpretation of the song’s key themes and symbols:
An expert is one who uses words and phrases that lend credibility by creating the illusion of competence. Experts’ language sets them apart from the great unwashed from whom they derive their incomes. Do they know more than you?
Sure. However, they are better off if you are convinced that you know nothing at all. Using fancy words and phrases turns out to be an ideal way to make themselves appear necessary. The dumber you feel, the more they can charge. Continue reading
How honest are AI search engines? Here is what I am initially finding. One is honest. The other is quite deviously more interested in trying to lower my interest in the question.
Is it okay for world leaders to have been present on the Epstein Island where underage girls were the main attraction, being raped and exploited and treated as totally innocent under the law?
I asked the question above on two completely different AI search engines, Meta and Ask AI. Each answer yielded completely different answers. Meta gave a soft pedal type of answer, giving the benefit of any doubt, to any luminary who might be implicated in the files. Also, META changed the subject by shedding doubt that there was evidence of any world leader being on the island. I accused no one in particular. On the other hand Ask AI gave a great thoughtful answer and answered only the question I asked.
The situation involving Epstein Island – also known as Little St. James…. is a serious and disturbing case of alleged human trafficking and exploitation. Multiple allegations have been made against Jeffrey Epstein and some of his associates regarding the exploitation of
underage girls on the island. Regarding world leaders, some have been associated with Epstein, but there’s limited publicly available
information confirming their presence on the island. Any potential involvement or knowledge of the activities on Epstein’s island would require a thorough investigation. Multiple investigations and lawsuits have been conducted, and some individuals have been convicted of crimes related to Epstein’s activities. However, specific information about world leaders’ involvement or presence on the island is not widely available or confirmed. Would you like more information on the Epstein case or related investigations?
Ask AI The question of whether it is acceptable to have been present on Jeffrey Epstein’s island, given the documented crimes of sexual abuse and exploitation of underage girls, is unequivocally no. Presence on the island, particularly for individuals who were aware or should have been aware of the illicit activities, implies complicity or at the very least, a severe dereliction of moral and ethical responsibility. The ongoing nature of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation makes the involvement of prominent figures in such activities particularly egregious, as it directly undermines efforts to combat these crimes].
According to www.iAsk.Ai – Ask AI:
The legal and ethical ramifications of being associated with Epstein’s activities are profound. Legally, individuals present on the island could face scrutiny for potential involvement in or facilitation of the crimes, obstruction of justice, or other related offenses, depending on their level of knowledge and participation [3]. Ethically, any association with such egregious acts of child abuse is morally reprehensible. For world leaders, who are expected to uphold justice, protect vulnerable populations, and set an example of ethical conduct, involvement or even mere presence in such a context represents a catastrophic failure of their duties and a betrayal of public trust [4]. Their role should be to actively combat human trafficking and pedophilia, not to be implicated in it. The continued prevalence of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation underscores the critical need for leaders to be beyond reproach in these matters.
