Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

Yesterday, someone left a comment on my post about Zohran Mamdani that stuck with me in a way few internet comments ever do. It wasn’t defensive or hostile—it was sobering.

The commenter challenged me, not to just oppose Mamdani’s ideology, but to think about why his message resonates at all. Here’s what they said:

“You really ought to ask yourself: why does his message resonate? Why did Russia have a revolution? People don’t wake up, make the espresso, make an omelet, look out the back window across their deck, the lake, the boat, ready for a day of country living, and say ‘You know what, honey… how about we start that revolution today?’ Nobody does that. Revolutions are made by very unhappy people. Why are they unhappy? Mostly because society largely doesn’t work for them… There is a lot of pain out there, and a lot of it is honest pain.”

They’re right. There is a lot of honest pain.

And if you’ve followed anything I’ve written over the last several years, you know I’ve been screaming into the void about how broken our monetary system is. We have created an economy where the top 10% get wealthier with each crisis, while the bottom 50% watches their standard of living deteriorate. I’ve described it here when talking about the GameStop crisis (33:40).

The frustration bubbling beneath the surface is not irrational. It’s earned.

People are watching the price of everything explode—housing, food, healthcare, energy—while wages stagnate. Meanwhile, Wall Street breaks records quarter after quarter. That disconnect doesn’t feel like capitalism to the average person. It feels rigged.

So when someone like Mamdani shows up and says “seize the means of production,” it doesn’t sound crazy to people living paycheck to paycheck. It sounds like maybe, finally, someone is taking their suffering seriously.

But here’s the part no one wants to talk about—especially not in polite political circles: the real culprit behind this pain is our broken monetary system. And both parties are to blame.

I laid this out in March, and it bears repeating. The U.S. is now at $35 trillion in federal debt. That number alone is alarming—but the speed at which we’re accumulating debt is what’s truly terrifying. Since 2020, we’ve added over $12 trillion. No one in D.C. talks seriously about it because monetary policy is the third rail. Touch it and you’re finished.

Worse, Democrats have embraced a mindset that spending can and should be infinite—as if the dollar is magic and gravity no longer applies. They’ve adopted the pseudo-academic gospel of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), which argues the Fed can just print money without consequences. This idea has infected the left’s fiscal agenda with delusional confidence that everything can be free, deficits don’t matter, and taxes can rise forever.

But as I pointed out before: MMT doesn’t help the poor. It accelerates wealth inequality. I noted this in March 2025 using this chart:

The more the Fed prints, the higher asset prices go. Who owns the assets? The top 10%. Who gets wrecked by inflation? The working class. Every time the Fed steps in with more easing, more QE, more bond buying, the rich pull further away from everyone else. Look at the chart of wealth distribution over the past 30 years—it’s not just widening, it’s going vertical. And it’s not just happening by accident. It’s a direct consequence of our monetary policy.

Democrats say they care about “equity,” but their economic policy ensures the exact opposite. The bigger government gets, the more it feeds on debt, the more the Fed has to monetize it, and the more billionaires benefit. This is not some conspiracy. It’s math. It’s observable. It’s policy. And it’s failure.

I understand why people are drawn to Mamdani’s message. When you’re crushed by rising costs and watching others get rich doing nothing but holding assets, radical solutions sound appealing. But replacing broken monetary policy with socialism isn’t just wrong—it’s disastrously wrong. Every society that’s tried it has ended up worse off: Soviet Russia, Mao’s China, Venezuela, Cuba. The promises are always the same—fairness, justice, redistribution—and the results are always scarcity, repression, and collapse.

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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the problem isn’t too much capitalism. The problem is we don’t have capitalism at all. We have central planning by unelected technocrats who distort markets, crush price signals, and rob the average American of any real shot at building wealth. And Democrats, for all their talk of the working class, are pushing harder than ever toward a centrally planned future with no brakes.

The solution isn’t to seize the means of production. The solution is to restore sound money, shrink the size of government, and reintroduce real market discipline. That’s how you give people a shot—not by handing them utopian slogans, but by fixing the corrupt system that’s keeping them down.

There’s a lot of honest pain out there. And that pain deserves a real answer. MMT is not the answer. Socialism is not the answer. A return to true capitalism—not cronyism, not corporatism, but honest, competitive markets—is the only way forward.

QTR’s Disclaimer: Please read my full legal disclaimer on my About page here. This post represents my opinions only. In addition, please understand I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have been hand selected by me, have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. They are either submitted to QTR by their author, reprinted under a Creative Commons license with my best effort to uphold what the license asks, or with the permission of the author.

This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I’m bullish without owning things, sometimes I’m bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I’m long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won’t update my positions. All positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I’m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.

Tesla’s Q2 delivery numbers came in at 384,122 vehicles, just below the estimate of 389,407. While estimates had been lowered multiple times, the number is still better than whisper numbers as low as 350k or 360k that were starting to make their way around the street over the past week. As a result, Tesla stock has popped this morning by almost 7%.

Production beat expectations. Tesla built 410,244 vehicles, compared to the forecast of 400,083. 

Model 3 and Model Y deliveries totaled 373,728, slightly under the estimate of 377,295.

The “Other Models” category — including the Model S, X, and Cybertruck — showed Tesla delivered 10,394 vehicles, below the expected 14,644.

Production of these models also came in slightly under, at 13,409 compared to the estimate of 13,616.

Model 3 and Y production reached 396,835 units, higher than the expected 383,567, suggesting Tesla had ramped up output of its most popular models.

Ahead of Tesla’s Q2 2025 delivery report, expectations were subdued amid signs of continued demand weakness and investor concerns over the company’s growth trajectory. Analysts widely anticipated another disappointing quarter, despite hopes pinned on the rollout of a refreshed Model Y and the company’s long-term robotaxi ambitions.

The Bloomberg consensus projected Tesla would report global deliveries of 395,328, representing an 11% year-over-year decline, though still higher than the 336,700 vehicles delivered in Q1. Production was expected to hit 443,321 units, up from 410,800 in the same period last year.

However, some firms were significantly more bearish. Wells Fargo predicted a 21% drop in deliveries from a year ago, estimating just 343,000 units — far below consensus. JPMorgan cut its estimate to 360,000, calling it a “sizable” 8% miss versus consensus. UBS was only slightly more optimistic, forecasting 366,000 units.

Expectations were tempered by hard data from Tesla’s largest markets. In Europe, Tesla registrations fell 27.9% in May, despite overall EV registrations in the region growing 25%, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). Year to date, Tesla’s European sales were down 37.1%.

In the U.S., April registrations dropped 16% to 39,913 units. Meanwhile, Chevrolet’s EV registrations surged 215%, overtaking Tesla in growth, while Ford saw a 33% drop.

At the start of Q2, analysts were still optimistic, projecting 444,000 deliveries — in line with the same period in 2024. That forecast steadily declined as market data revealed Tesla wasn’t production-constrained, but rather grappling with a demand problem, despite aggressive discounts and 0% financing offers on the Model 3 and Model Y.

Ahead of this morning’s data, Bloomberg reports that Elon Musk has assumed direct oversight of Tesla’s sales operations in the United States and Europe, following the recent exit of longtime executive Omead Afshar.

Afshar, who left the company in late June, previously led sales and manufacturing across both regions.

The leadership shift comes as Tesla faces continued sales declines. Musk is now overseeing North American and European sales, while Senior Vice President Tom Zhu retains control of Asia and takes charge of global manufacturing. Zhu, who joined Tesla in 2014 and led the launch of its Shanghai Gigafactory, will now oversee factory heads including Hrushi Sagar in Fremont and Jason Shawhan in Austin. Meanwhile, Troy Jones, Tesla’s vice president of North American sales, now reports directly to Musk.

Musk’s hands-on role in Europe is especially notable. He has previously described the continent as Tesla’s “weakest market.” Sales data supports that: vehicle registrations across Europe dropped 28% in May and are down 37% for the year so far, while Chinese rivals like BYD continue to gain ground.

“Tesla’s sluggish sales” are again under scrutiny as more affordable models are delayed and consumer sentiment remains mixed. With another year of declining deliveries likely, investors are bracing for a second consecutive annual drop.

After a stint overseeing global operations from the U.S., Zhu returned to China last year due to regulatory issues tied to Tesla’s driver-assist features.

Since then, Chinese authorities have proposed new data guidelines that may help Tesla expand its advanced driving systems in the country.

Ten-year gilt yields just spiked by more than 10 bps on rumors that UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves was about to resign or be ousted.

The pressure on Reeves comes after Starmer — in a dramatic climbdown on Tuesday — abandoned controversial plans to restrict benefit payments to some disabled people, a reform pushed by the chancellor which would have saved some £5 billion ($6.9 billion), and was key to meeting her self-imposed budgetary rules at her spring statement in March.

Bloomberg reports that the welfare reform package was widely opposed by Labour MPs, with more than 120 originally threatening to vote against the policy in parliament.

Even after the last-ditch decision to drop the most contentious changes, 49 Labour MPs still voted against the bill on Tuesday, a sign of the scale of discontent.

The rebellion and U-turn are a serious blow to Starmer’s political authority as he approaches the first anniversary of Labour’s election win last July.

The decision to ditch the welfare reforms also leaves Reeves facing a widening fiscal hole of more than £6 billion to fill, including the need to fund a separate about-turn on a plan to cut winter fuel payments to pensioners.

As Bloomberg further reports, Starmer’s press secretary, Sophie Nazemi, quickly clarified his position to reporters after PMQs, saying that Reeves was going nowhere.

“She has the prime minister’s full backing,” Nazemi said.

“He’s said it repeatedly.”

The combination of Starmer’s failure to back his chancellor, and Reeves’ tears, prompted speculation about her position until the Treasury clarified that the reason for her demeanor was a personal issue.

“It’s a personal matter, which – as you would expect – we are not going to get into,” the Treasury said in a statement.

“The chancellor will be working out of Downing Street this afternoon.”

A tear just rolled down the Chancellor’s cheek at #PMQs as the PM refuses to answer whether or not she’ll stay in her job.

Hayfever, or something else? pic.twitter.com/HPXXQlDNo9

— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) July 2, 2025

But, as Bloomberg’s Simon White notes, the rapidity of the move shows the precariousness of the UK’s debt situation.

The government had planned a series of cuts to welfare and sickness benefits, but had to drastically scale them back in the face of huge opposition from backbench MPs.

The watered down changes are estimated to deliver no savings overall.

A new chancellor might drop Reeves’ commitment to not borrow more for day-to-day activities, or increase spending, justifying a deepening concern for the gilt market.

Cable tumbled…

Yields are still near their day’s highs, while a risk measure for the UK, based on asset swaps, country bond spreads and basis swaps, has widened notably.

Keep watching.

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

Buying legal weed and marijuana products in California will get slightly more expensive starting July 1 after state legislators failed to stop a state excise tax increase on the industry this month.

Effective Tuesday, marijuana retailers will pay 19 percent of gross receipts from cannabis and cannabis product sales—a jump of 4 percentage points.

The excise tax is paid in addition to state sales tax and any city or county taxes applicable to the business’s location.

California Cannabis Industry Attorney Jared Schwass said the decision to move ahead with the tax was “disappointing.”

“California legislators fail to act,” Schwass posted on X last week. “Due to that failure, the California cannabis tax is still on schedule to increase from 15 percent to 19 percent on July 1st. It is disappointing to read that [Sen.] Mike McGuire was against freezing the automatic increase because his constituents, who are already struggling to stay in the regulated market, will feel the pain of this increased tax.”

McGuire, a Democrat from Ukiah in Northern California, is leader of the California State Senate.

The state Assembly unanimously approved Assembly Bill 564 by Assemblyman Matt Haney of San Francisco on June 2. The legislation, as introduced, would have repealed the proposed tax hike. It was amended by lawmakers, however, to delay the implementation until the 2030–2031 fiscal year.

The bill then stalled in a Senate committee this month, and the delay allows the tax hike to kick in.

The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Western States Council applauded the bill’s passage in June.

“California’s plans to raise the cannabis excise tax rate to 19 percent will only increase the number of failed legal cannabis businesses,” UFCW Local 1167 President Joe Duffle said in a statement. “As the leading cannabis union, UFCW sees how difficult it is for businesses that play by the rules.”

Duffle said freezing the cannabis excise tax would give legal cannabis businesses a “fighting chance” to stay afloat in the struggling industry.

“Without this bill, the illicit cannabis industry will only flourish more and keep putting untested, untaxed and unregulated cannabis products into the hands of consumers,” he added.

A baker sells marijuana cookies at the medical marijuana farmers market at the California Heritage Market in Los Angeles on July 11, 2014.  David McNew/Reuters

The California Cannabis Operators Association, the largest industry association in the state, started a petition to urge legislators to pass the bill.

“Sacramento politicians decided that you should now pay 25 percent more in excise taxes on safe and regulated cannabis products at your local dispensary,” the association wrote in the petition. “This short-sighted policy decision will only drive more consumers to the illicit market, accelerate the ongoing market collapse, and (ironically) reduce overall tax revenue, hurting the community programs that rely on these funds.”

The organization said the tax increase falls on consumers and patients at a time when many are struggling with inflation and cost-of-living challenges. The group also said it puts public health and safety at greater risk by driving even more Californians to the illegal black market.

“For nearly five years, California’s licensed cannabis market has been in a steep decline,” the organization stated.

On a statewide level, however, Haney’s legislation faced strong opposition from a coalition of 98 organizations, including Youth Forward, Getting it Right from the Start, Child Action Inc., and other nonprofits that favored raising the excise tax.

The groups said they risked losing at least $150 million per year for childcare, youth, and environmental programs if the tax increase was stalled.

“This translates into thousands fewer childcare slots for low-income children, fewer youth benefiting from substance abuse prevention programs, continuing environmental degradation of our watersheds, and other harms,” the organizations told the state, according to a legislative analysis.

Indigenous Justice, a nonprofit tribal organization, also opposed the bill, saying it would strip critical funding from tribal-focused grants that support cultural revitalization, land restoration, youth substance use prevention, sacred site access, and tribal youth leadership development, according to a legislative analysis.

California receives millions each year in cannabis excise tax revenue that pays for childcare programs, health initiatives, and environmental programs.

The state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office projected in March that the state would receive $607 million in cannabis tax revenue between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.

Authored by Peter Reagan via BirchGold.com,

“The distinct Turkish tradition of “saving under the pillow” – a term referring to keeping valuables like gold at home – often comes into play during times of economic crisis, when the government calls on citizens to spend their savings to help revive the economy.”

The opening part of a recent report highlighting how Turkey’s 4,500 tons of physical gold bullion are mostly domestically-held is curious, and also telling.

Why should Turks oblige its government and spend what little wealth they are likely to have, the latter point being so because the government has destroyed the currency? It is quite brazen that a government infamous for monetary mismanagement would tell its citizens, who are far more capable of managing finances, on what to do with the very money that the central bank is destroying.

Perhaps it is the full awareness of how careless and hazardous the central bank is that has caused Turks to accumulate $331 billion of household gold.

Bars, coins, jewelry: whatever can be bought is stored away as Turks wait to see how much further the lira can crumble, having hit an inflation rate of 85.51% in October 2022.

The government obviously sees this as a problem, constantly trying to associate gold with tax evasion and money laundering.

Because why else would someone buy gold, right?

It has increased the sales tax on gold purchases and likely played some part in banks having huge differences in buy/sell prices, driving the gold trade underground.

Any jewelry purchase over $5,000 must be reported thoroughly, as if anyone buying a nice ring could be funding terrorism, and sales of uncertified cut gold bars were banned in 2024.

Despite this obvious clampdown, and despite relatively easy access to U.S. dollars and euros, Turks are still mostly opting for the comparatively inconvenient option of holding physical gold.

The article purports that this is because of cultural tradition, but it’s very likely that Turkey’s citizens recognize free-floating paper for what it is.

Why escape from one inflationary asset into another?

Amusingly enough, a prominent Turkish economist notes that it’s these very reserves that the government is hounding that provide stability during times of crisis, which seem to be ongoing these days.

When economic stress hits, liquidating some of their gold to rebuy it when things stabilize is how Turks keep things moving.

Without this, the economy might altogether crumble.

The drive to move gold out of households and into questionable governing hands goes back to 1980s. Turks were meant to get interest from depositing their gold in banks, but the initiative mostly went nowhere.

Here’s why:

…concerns soon emerged about liquidity risks. Policymakers feared a potential crisis if all depositors demanded physical gold at once, particularly if the collected gold had already been sold abroad to obtain foreign currency.

Sort of like the COMEX-London-Basel III situation, isn’t it? With obvious admissions such as these, it’s no wonder Turks only trust gold that they can hold and store themselves.

Erdogan’s 2016 appeal to patriotism morphed into the Gold Conversion System in 2022, which was about as alluring as it sounds. Strangely, the article says that these and similar efforts didn’t take off because of “cultural norms, practical concerns, and structural economic uncertainties.”

It seems that the answer lies elsewhere and is much more straightforward.

Trust is mostly necessarily earned, and the government of Turkey has done little but betray it over the last few decades. On the other hand, gold has upheld it and then some.

The best country in the world is the one you live in.

Or… not?

This infographic, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao, spotlights the 40 countries that the world perceives to be the “best.”

Like most efforts to quantify a qualitative measure, this ranking reflects public perceptions, not hard data. However, countries did have to meet certain GDP, tourism, and FDI thresholds to be included in the race.

Data for this infographic is sourced from U.S. News & World Report in partnership with Wharton and WPP. They asked more than 17,000 people to judge 87 nations across 73 attributes grouped in 10 subrankings.

ℹ️ Their survey was conducted between March 22nd–May 23rd, 2024.

Skip to the last section to read the full methodology breakdown, or visit the source’s explanation page here.

This Small European Country is the Best in the World

From its snow-capped peaks to its powerhouse financial sector, Switzerland has secured the public’s vote as the world’s best country in 2024.

Survey respondents ranked Switzerland highly for business (#2), quality of life (#3), social purpose (#7) and cultural influence (#8).

For the hard data enthusiasts, Switzerland ranks third by GDP per capita, ($105,000), boosted by its enormous banking sector known for its secrecy.

It’s fourth by GNI per capita ($95,070), which removes the effects of outside financial flows entering the country.

Economic Might Still Matters

However, Japan (#2) and the U.S. (#3) remain fixtures near the top thanks to their outsized GDPs, deep innovation pipelines and global brands.

Business friendliness weighed heavily: they’re top five for entrepreneurship, while the U.S. ranks #1 for agility and power.

Meanwhile, high investor confidence and strong currency reserves help each nation offset middling scores on cost of living and income equality.

Together they illustrate how sheer economic heft continues to sway public perception—even in an era generally more focused on sustainability and social values.

Middle East and Asia Make Inroads in Global Perceptions

The UAE (#17), Qatar (#25) and Saudi Arabia (#32) showcase the Middle East’s growing soft-power ambitions.

Targeted investment in tourism, green energy, and cultural projects burnishes their brand beyond the somewhat disparaging “petro-state” label.

Likewise, South Korea (#18), Singapore (#14) and China (#16) leverage advanced manufacturing and technological prowess to climb the ranking.

Their rise hints at a more multipolar world where Western dominance over “best country” narratives is steadily eroding.

Determining the “Best Countries” in the World

U.S. News designed its “Best Countries” ranking around 73 attributes grouped into 10 thematic subrankings, such as quality of life, power, and entrepreneurship.

To reiterate, these rankings reflect public perceptions, not hard data. To gather this, the survey is distributed globally to about 17,000 respondents, including business leaders, informed elites, and general citizens.

Each participant is shown a random subset of countries (that must meet GDP, tourism, and FDI thresholds) and asked to rate how strongly they associate those countries with each of the 73 attributes.

These individual attributes are pre-assigned to categories by researchers, and scores are normalized on a 0–100 scale. Category scores are then averaged for each country.

Finally, respondents also rank how important each category is to them. These rankings determine the weights assigned to each category.

A country’s final score is calculated by combining its weighted category scores, producing the overall rankings seen in this graphic.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The World’s Richest Countries Across Three Metrics on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

By Thomas Kolbe

The European Central Bank has reached the end of its rate cycle – and has become ensnared in the very problems to which it has significantly contributed. In Sintra, this was all but hidden behind a facade of central banker utopia.

The annual Sintra conference, just west of Lisbon, serves the ECB much as Jackson Hole does for the Federal Reserve. It’s a moment to review, to look ahead, and to tie the past year’s monetary policy into a broader political narrative. For ECB President Christine Lagarde, that narrative is easily summed up: after eight cuts, rates now rest at two percent; inflation hovers around the two-percent target; employment across the eurozone remains stable; and a fresh debt crisis is nowhere in sight.

That is the essence of Lagarde’s Sintra address—designed to convey one message: everything is under control. Even uncertainties such as Trump-era trade volatility, geopolitical upheavals, or the collapse of German industry are said not to derail the ECB’s set course. Following the market flood during the lockdowns, things are now deemed normal—markets “swing” around their equilibrium. In central bank parlance: they’ve found the “neutral rate.”

The Chimera of the Neutral Rate

The “neutral rate” is the holy grail of central banking mystique. When policy makers feel secure, and media campaigns successfully mask the erosion of fiat currency, it becomes the mantra. In this worldview, the ECB’s policy rate and some theoretical, consolidated market rate align—not by chance, but by design. Even before Lagarde’s closing remarks, ECB Executive Board members Joachim Nagel and Philip Lane had laid the groundwork all through June, repeatedly sending the “neutral-rate” message.

That message? That they have balanced inflationary and deflationary forces and steered the eurozone back onto a growth trajectory. Let’s skip debates over manipulated inflation stats and dramatically understated unemployment figures. These neutral-rate narratives are nothing more than central-bank fairy tales from One Thousand and One Nights—prepackaged press releases meant to evoke sovereignty. Economic processes don’t reduce to such simplistic frameworks. But that’s precisely not the point: the neutral-rate story is a sedative—for governments and markets alike.

The Fiscal Original Sin

The tale of the ECB as guardian of monetary stability is a relic of Bundesbank days. That era is long gone. Central banks worldwide, dragged into political-fiscal entanglements during the last debt crisis 15 years ago, have since become dependent. During the lockdowns alone, the ECB’s PEPP absorbed €1.85 trillion of eurozone sovereign debt—and today still holds roughly a third of that mountain of obligations.

Today, the ECB’s sole goal is to keep those sovereign debt-stacks liquid—buying up bonds shunned by the market to maintain the illusion that public debt, generous welfare, and Keynesian interventionism are all sustainably reconcilable.

Eurozone governments have long relied on external liquidity. With public debt averaging 100 percent of GDP, many member states would be insolvent without the ECB’s backstop. That would have consequences—not just for markets, but for social cohesion, internal stability, and the self-image of an EU-Europe built on oversized welfare motors that offer citizens a false sense of security and dangerously misjudge public capacity.

A withdrawal of the ECB from this nexus of fiscal irresponsibility, monetary support, and political overreach is thus unthinkable. The central bank is no longer just a guardian of the currency—it is the stabilizer of an eroding social model. Through indirect means and backdoor channels, it is underwriting pensions, welfare budgets, bureaucratic cogs—and obscuring how fragile the whole edifice has become.

The ECB is the last mortar holding that crumbling structure together. Remove it, and the house of cards collapses instantly. Which is why Lagarde and cohort must preserve the illusion of a steerable eurozone.

The Facts Tell a Different Story

Beyond the gloss of Sintra—in the real world of data—the eurozone is in serious crisis. Industry continues to shrink, and construction is in a deep recession. Over 50 percent of firms cite insufficient orders. Since 2021, German industry alone has cut 217,000 jobs—and by year’s end will lose another 100,000. Deindustrialization is advancing. Production is being moved abroad. Capital is fleeing, and productivity has stalled for eight years running.

The result: countries’ tax bases are eroding. Revenues fall and welfare costs rise, pushing debt burdens higher. Without genuine reforms, the eurozone risks a debt crisis that will once again force the ECB to serve as lender of last resort.

Years of zero interest have immersed the eurozone in the sweet poison of cheap credit. Now, subvention-dependent firms are collapsing under real positive rates. That’s “zombie economy.” And the latest casualty of green industrial planning—Northvolt—is just the latest to close its doors, a consequence of centrally managed economic policy.

Fed Holds Tough

Making matters worse: across the Atlantic, the Federal Reserve stands firm on its consolidation path, keeping rates at 4.5 percent—well above other major central banks. The U.S. is clearly prepared to accept a positive market rate, giving its economy room to purge unproductive elements. This lets productive capital reposition and fuel a fresh investment cycle. With tax cuts, energy deregulation, and rolling back green agendas, the U.S. is becoming a capital magnet—one that European economies can only envy.

In Washington, the view is clear: a period of pain brings greater rewards. While the U.S. equips itself administratively, technically, and innovatively for the digital age, EU-Europe stages a competition in ever-expanding welfare plans—rent caps, social handouts, green subsidies: consumption decreed and regulated to substitute for the productive machinery of revenue generation.

Europe has become addicted to welfare-state subventionitis—sticking to a hyper-statist model to defer social and economic pain. And always in the wings: the ECB and its fatal money press. How long this can last, only time will tell. But market tensions are mounting. The day when those tensions trigger a seismic shift, shaking the tectonic plates of the economy into new alignment, looms ever closer.

* * * 

Thomas Kolbe, born in 1978 in Neuss/ Germany, is a graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.

Much of the Western, industrialized world is worrying about falling birth rates and aging societies.

While reaching 65 is still a privilege in most parts of the world, social security and welfare systems typically rely on a growing working-age population to support dependent groups (children and seniors).

When this balance shifts due to aging populations, countries face increased pressure on healthcare, pension systems, and economic productivity.

This visualization, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao, ranks countries by the share of their population aged 65 and over, along with their total numbers. The figures are estimates for 2025, made under the medium variant projection in the UN World Population Prospects (2024).

Ranked: Countries With the Most Seniors

Monaco has the highest share of older adults in its population, at 37%.

However, second-place Japan stands out with 30% of its population aged 65+, totaling nearly 37 million people.

On top of ranking second by percentage, it’s fourth by total senior population (after China, India and the U.S.).

Japan’s demographic profile has long raised concerns over labor shortages and economic growth. Policymakers are responding with automation and immigration strategies to adapt.

Japan has been under the spotlight for its aging society, but it’s not the only one with a growing senior demographic. In fact, many European nations are also seeing a significant uptick in older adults.

Europe: The Oldest Content by Median Age

Of the 36 countries on this list, 28 are in Europe. They include Italy (25.1%), Germany (23.7%), and France (22.4%), all major European economic powerhouses.

This growing population of older adults reflects Europe’s low birth rates and increasing life expectancy. With a median age of 44, Europe faces unique challenges in sustaining its welfare and pension systems.

For example, many European countries already have some of the highest tax-to-GDP ratios, leaving little room for increased taxation to create more revenue room.

This demographic shift is also influencing political and economic priorities across the continent, including unrest over increasing retirement ages.

Small Territories, Big Senior Shares

Smaller territories like Monaco (36.8%), Martinique (26.5%), and Montserrat (25.0%) have disproportionately high senior shares.

These places often attract retirees or have low birth rates, skewing their demographic makeup.

While their overall populations are small, their needs for senior-focused healthcare and services are growing fast, which may force governments to shift priorities away from education, or other services for younger demographics.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Ranked: Cities With the Largest Working-Age Populations on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

Authored by Savannah Hulsey Pointer via The Epoch Times,

The State Department revoked the U.S. visas of the British punk-rap band Bob Vylan, following the group’s anti-Israel comments at a world-famous English music festival. 

Lead singer Bobby Vylan led attendees at his June 28 concert at the Glastonbury Festival in chants of “Death, death to the IDF!” referring to the Israel Defense Forces.

The concert came just days after the United States and Israel engaged in an offensive against Iranian nuclear sites, and almost two years after Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, prompting Israeli military actions in Gaza aimed at eliminating the Palestinian terrorist group and freeing the hostages taken by it. The ongoing Israel–Hamas conflict also triggered protests by pro-Palestinian activists against Israel’s military responses.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau announced in a June 30 X post that “The [State Department] has revoked the U.S. visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants. Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country.”

The band was scheduled later this year to make appearances in cities across the nation, including Washington, Utah, Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and other states.

During the weekend show, Vylan chanted against the IDF while performing in front of 200,000 people at the festival, held in Somerset, England, which is one of the world’s largest music events.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned Vylan’s message.

“There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech,” Starmer said in a statement. “I said that [Irish hip-hop group] Kneecap should not be given a platform, and that goes for any other performers making threats or inciting violence.”

Vylan took to Facebook the day after the performance, saying he had been “inundated” with a mixture of “support and hatred,” but reiterating his stance that “I said what I said.” 

The singer referenced his daughter, saying:

“Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place. 

“Let us display to them loudly and visibly the right thing to do when we need change.” 

Police said they are considering whether an investigation is needed. Avon and Somerset Police wrote on X, “We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon. Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.” 

Chris Philp, the Conservative MP for Croydon South and Shadow Home Secretary in the UK, encouraged prosecution against Vylan, saying on X:

“It seems clear Vylan was inciting violence and hatred … I call on the Police to urgently investigate and prosecute the BBC as well for broadcasting this.”

The BBC admitted on June 30 that it should have cut the broadcast after the “anti-Semitic” and “utterly unacceptable” comments were made.

The broadcaster has since removed the performance from its website.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.