The Short and Long of It, At Least for Now
A Collection of Guest Posts to Help You Rise Above the Noise - Article #109
I am sharing several guest posts directly in this article, making it shorter for me. I encourage you to find the time to read, listen to, and/or watch each guest post along with all the other light blue linked articles, videos, and other supporting content in each, making this article longer for you.
This article will answer these questions:
I. Why this article now?
II. What is “Fin De Siecle”?
III. What is “Multiflation”?
IV. What is “Capital Wars and The Death of Fiscal Illusions”?
V. What is the “loose cannon on the deck of the world in a tempest-tossed era”?
VII. “Why Will Gold Surpass $30,000”?
VIII. How will Bessent be able to revalue gold without legislation?
IX. What does The X Project Guy have to say?
X. Why should you care?
Reminder for readers and listeners: nothing The X Project writes or says should be considered investment advice or recommendations to buy or sell securities or investment products. Everything written and said is for informational purposes only, and you should do your own research and due diligence. It would be best to discuss with an investment advisor before making any investments or changes to your investments based on any information provided by The X Project.
I. Why this article now?
I am troubled by the noise and how many people seem lost because of it.
Aside from that, I feel calm, confident, and optimistic despite knowing we are entering the final throes of the fourth turning because the first turning will arrive soon thereafter, providing a better and brighter future for America, our children, and grandchildren.
I feel as though I’ve been waiting and preparing for this period most of my life. This is why I started The X Project, which curates, summarizes, distills, and synthesizes knowledge & learning at the interseXion of economics, geopolitics, money, interest rates, debts, deficits, energy, commodities, demographics, & markets - helping you know what you need to know.
The X Project aims to help you see and understand what we are experiencing, why, and what to expect so you can be prepared financially, intellectually, and emotionally.
II. What is “Fin De Siecle”?
“Fin De Siecle” means the end of the century, and it is also the title of a collection of essays published by
, to whom I subscribe.“After publishing a collection of extraordinary essays from five close friends and mentors in the February 2025 edition of Things That Make You Go Hmmm… I’ve received an avalanche of requests to share their wisdom with friends and family, so I’m making the full letter publicly available.
The catalyst for this particular edition was a series of conversations (some of which my Copper Tier subscribers have been privy to in the form of my podcast conversations with Mike Green, Dan Oliver, Andrew McDermott and, particularly, Demetri Kofinas) which have been representative of a reflective journey upon which I find myself in recent months as the world around me continues to get increasingly chaotic and unanchored from that which I understand and in which I feel comfortable.
In February, with the help of those truly remarkable friends, I presented a collection of essays about the world around us, our journey here and the possible paths forward that await us.
Simon Mikhailovich offered a meditation on the nature of a rules-based order where everybody knows and understands how every agent around us acts and reacts in predictable ways – and how our lives may change now that certainty has been removed.
Roger Mitchell suggested that the answer to our malaise might be hiding in plain sight and, as solutions go, it’s perhaps the oldest of them all.
Sir Steven Wilkinson looked at the AI revolution and, in following the path to its likely future, dares to contemplate a change to the world which is possibly beyond the comprehension of the vast majority of those who inhabit it (including yours truly).
Andrew McDermott offered a window to the past which proves that there is a way forward, but it’s one which requires sacrifice, the making of hard decisions and the collective sharing of pain. The question is whether we have the courage to act.
And finally, Tony Deden reflected upon the nature, root causes and implications of the rolling crises in which we find ourselves in an attempt to not only understand how we got here, but also to reflect on what that means, and whether there is a way back for us all.
I am immensely grateful to my friends for their willingness to participate in this venture, the wisdom they shared and the profound impact each of them has had on my life.
Please enjoy the work of these extraordinary men and share this link with anybody for whom you think this will resonate.”
III. What is “Multiflation”?
According to a great article, “Enter Multiflation - The Investing Rules Have Changed” by a new favorite Substack of mine,
:“Multiflation represents both the chaotic unwinding of decades of monetary-induced hyperreality and the painful birth of a new reality—one where economic forces no longer behave according to the models and assumptions that guided us for fifty years.”
IV. What is “Capital Wars and The Death of Fiscal Illusions”?
It is the title of the latest episode of the “Hidden Forces” podcast, in which
“
speaks with investors and about the consequences of a breakdown in the international capital and trading system—and what this means for markets and investor portfolios.”
V. What is the “loose cannon on the deck of the world in a tempest-tossed era”?
If you listen to the Hidden Forces podcast above, you’ll hear
quote this short passage…“During this new stage of the depression, the refugee gold and the foreign government reserve deposits were constantly driven by fear hither and yon over the world. We were to see currencies demoralized and governments embarrassed as fear drove the gold from one country to another. In fact, there was a mass of gold and short-term credit which behaved like a loose cannon on the deck of the world in a tempest-tossed era.”
… from Chapter 7, “Second Phase of The Depression - April to August, 1931,” from Volume II of The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover: The Great Depression 1929 -1941. Chapter 7, which
and I recommend reading is pages 72-91 in the PDF of the memoirs that you can find here.VI. “Is This The End of The Monetary System As We Know It?”
To find out, you have to listen to
’s MacroVoices podcast with @Daniel Lacalle, which you can find here.VII. “Why Will Gold Surpass $30,000”?
To find out, read the latest article (here) by
, and also watch Simon Marcotte's presentation on The Oregon Group’s YouTube channel (here.)VIII. How will Bessent be able to revalue gold without legislation?
The topic of the U.S. revaluing gold on its balance sheet and thereby theoretically injecting trillions of dollars into the Treasury General Account (TGA) has received a lot of buzz and debate since it first surfaced and since I originally wrote about it in “Gold Prices Made New All-Time Highs - Again!” and “Triffin's Dilemma and The Mar-a-Lago Accords.”
has posted on X his latest take on how Bessent may be able to revalue the gold certificates without legislation, which you can find here.IX. What does The X Project Guy have to say?
There is not much more to say this time since there is so much for you to read in all of the posts and links above.
X. Why should you care?
Because if you lose perspective, you stand to lose so much more.
Thank you for your subscription, especially if you are a paying subscriber. Your support is everything to The X Project and is greatly appreciated. If you agree, please do me the favor of hitting the like button and posting positive comments about my articles, assuming you have positive things to say.