The post Wednesday very well said, our first contributor writes. While the Democrats are leading the spending charge, let us not forget that the Republicans have been complicit in this long-term spending charade.

"And so now with Pelosi's 1,300-page bill, including the Fed's money printing, we might be adding as much as $9-trillion to the national debt with out-of-thin-air money.

Question: When is the last time weve heard anything about reining in spending?

Wonder if it would be appropriate for the elected to go back in history and brush up on the downfall of the Roman Empire and the Weimar Republic?

Enjoy your posts. Godspeed and God Bless.

Thanks, reader, for the kind words. As to your question (in bold print), weve been wondering the same thing.

Apparently, in the midst of a pandemic its gauche to mention fiscal responsibility not when lives are at stake, dammit! (Clutch them pearls)

But with a national debt exceeding $25 trillion -- and counting -- we think its a fair question.

Where have all the fiscal conservatives gone? And this isnt a question of partisanship.

Your Rundown for Friday, May 15, 2020

Silver Story

Were taking a look at the white metal or whats been called the poor mans gold.

The last time we wrote about silver was in Aug. 2019 (B.C before coronavirus); here are a few nuggets:

Kitco said then: Silver had been somewhat detached from golds price changes, but now with recession odds rising, silver is catching its bid.

We said: About those recession odds One financial publication after another features dire warnings about the recession indicator, accompanied by pics of flashing red sirens and angsty stockbrokers.

Who knew a pandemic would burst the economys bubble?

Now the Financial Times says: Analysts at Bank of America predict silver could rise to $20 over the next 12 months as economic growth rebounds.

Some context? In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, silver rallied 440 per cent from its bottom to $48.44 a troy ounce in 2011.

And if theres anything to that follow the smart money thing, at the end of April, Canadian billionaire and mining expert Eric Sprott made his biggest investment in silver ever, purchasing a $42-million stake in MAG Silver (NYSE: MAG).

Not only that, silver has a wide range of applications, particularly for the manufacture of electronics and clean air technology.

Because silver has such a wide range of applications, when one slows theres potential for another to pick up, says analyst Philip Newman at Metals Focus. The range of applications argues for a very strong future.

So its worth repeating: look for ways to insulate your portfolio. Silvers one of them.

Market Rundown for Friday, May 15, 2020

The S&P 500 Index is down 9 points to 2,843.

Oil is up $1.16 to $28.72 for a barrel of West Texas crude.

Golds up $9.00 to $1,749.90 per ounce.

Bitcoin is down $273.75 to $9,533.79.

Have an outstanding weekend! Well check back Monday.

For the Rundown,

Aaron Gentzler